07/08/21
Autódromo de Most
Saturday in the Czech city of Most began with a strong Superpole result for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team but ended with a disappointing race result. The FIM Superbike World Championship is making its first appearance at Most, where it is staging round six of the 2021 season. In Superpole, Tom Sykes (GBR) of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team finished fourth on his BMW M 1000 RR, narrowly missing out on the front row of the grid. He then came home ninth in race one. Sykes’ team-mate Michael van der Mark (NED) made an impressive fightback in the race before crashing out. Jonas Folger (GER) from the Bonovo MGM Racing team retired with a technical issue.
Sykes came up just 0.015 seconds short of a place on the front row of the grid in Saturday morning’s Superpole qualifying. However, fourth place also put him in a good position going into the race. van der Mark had to settle for 17th place in Superpole. Folger, who had crashed in the morning’s third free practice session, qualified 21st.
Sykes climbed into third place at the start of race one. However, he went wide in turn one while having to avoid other riders and slotted back into fifth place. On lap five, he again headed straight on in turn one when he was touched by another bike. Finding himself in tenth place, Sykes attempted to work his way back to the front of the field, but then had issues with the rear tyre. He ultimately crossed the finish line in ninth place.
Starting from 17th on the grid, van der Mark launched a spirited comeback on his M RR. However, having climbed into eighth place, that comeback came to an abrupt end. The Dutchman was one of several riders who crashed out of Saturday’s race. Folger had been continuously moving up the field towards a points finish until a technical issue forced him to retire on lap seven.