2014 World Supersport Champion Michael van der Mark Wins Season Finale Race for Team Pata Honda in Qatar

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Losail - Qatar    02.11.2014                 Van der Mark rounds off stunning season with dominant Qatar podium Pata Honda’s Michael van der Mark concluded his domination of the 2014 World Supersport championship with a classy and dominant win under the floodlights at Losail in Qatar this evening.   Starting from second place on the grid, the 2014 World Supersport champion shot into an early lead on the first of 15 laps at the 5.380km Losail International Circuit and was never headed, breaking the old 2009 lap record no fewer than three times.   His Pata Honda team-mate, Lorenzo Zanetti, finished in seventh place this evening. The 27-year-old Italian battled for a podium position in the opening laps but was unable to sustain his challenge after losing rear grip.   Zanetti finishes the season in fourth place overall in the championship points standings, but has the satisfaction of having taken a popular race victory at his home round of Imola in May.   Meanwhile, van der Mark’s emphatic victory this evening over Thailand’s Ratthapark Wilairot, on another Honda CBR600RR, and Jules Cluzel, who finished third, was his sixth of the season, to go with four second places – the lowest position in which the 22-year-old has finished all year.   The Dutch ace begins a new chapter in his career with the Pata Honda World Superbike team in 2015 and will test the team’s Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP for the first time in three weeks time at Jerez in Spain. Michael van der Mark  - 1st It’s been a really great season. At the beginning we all knew that it might be possible to fight for the championship and we achieved it in an incredible way. Six wins, four second places and only one zero in the first round is a good record to finish with. The team showed how good they are and how good the CBR is. And even myself, I think I showed I had everything to win the title. Up to this weekend I really wanted to win my last race in World Supersport and now I’m really looking forward to a new step and a new adventure next year. I have a lot of work to do and a lot to learn, but I think I’ve grown a lot this year and I can’t wait for next season. Lorenzo Zanetti  - 7th I had a good start to the race but after the first three or four laps I started to struggle with the rear tyre dropping. When this happens I start to push the front and I start to fight with the bike. We haven’t been able to find a solution to this all season and even though it’s possible to do a fast lap in qualifying, the race is often very different. It’s disappointing because I think I have had the potential all season to fight for the podium, but it has not always been possible. Pieter Breddels  - technical co-ordinator Michael just showed this evening the true class of a world champion. He took the lead from the start and kept it until the chequered flag. The champion has made a superb exit from World Supersport and showed once again that he has been the best rider on the best bike all season. It’s a very exciting prospect to see him riding the bigger CBR Fireblade soon. Lorenzo had a tough time and his result was a little disappointing. He was battling in the early stages but couldn’t keep it going, which is a shame for him and the team. Weather Night Race Air 25°C Track 28°C Humidity 50%   Race Results - Losail - 5.380km, 15 laps   1   Michael van der Mark 30m42.722s NED HONDA Pata Honda World Supersport Team 2   Ratthapark Wilairot +3.570s THA HONDA Core PTR Honda 3   Jules Cluzel +5.124s FRA MV MV Agusta RC 4   Lucas Mahias +5.476s FRA YAMAHA MG Competition 5   Kev Coghlan +5.578s GBR YAMAHA DMC Panavto-Yamaha 6   Roberto Rolfo +8.275s ITA KAWASAKI Team GO Eleven 7   Lorenzo Zanetti +8.965s ITA HONDA Pata Honda World Supersport Team 8   Kenan Sofuoglu +12.367s TUR KAWASAKI San Carlo Puccetti Racing 9   Roberto Tamburini +22.923s ITA KAWASAKI San Carlo Puccetti Racing 10   Massimo Roccoli +23.081s ITA MV MV Agusta Reparto Corse   Championship Standings   1   Michael van der Mark 230 pts NED HONDA Pata Honda World Supersport Team 2   Jules Cluzel 148 pts FRA MV MV Agusta RC 3   Florian Marino 125 pts FRA KAWASAKI Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres 4   Lorenzo Zanetti 112 pts ITA HONDA Pata Honda World Supersport Team 5   Kenan Sofuoglu 109 pts TUR KAWASAKI San Carlo Puccetti Racing 6   Patrick Jacobson 99 pts USA KAWASAKI Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres 7   Roberto Rolfo 97 pts ITA KAWASAKI Team GO Eleven 8   Kenan Sofuoglu 94 pts TUR KAWASAKI San Carlo Puccetti Racing 9   Ratthapark Wilairot 70 pts THA HONDA Core PTR Honda 10   Raffaele De Rosa 70 pts ITA HONDA Core PTR Honda   Copyright-free images © 2014 Pata Honda.

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