Pata Honda rider Michael van der Mark finished fourth in the second of today’s two World Supersport free practice sessions at Phillip Island in Australia with the pace being set by world champion Kenan Sofuoglu.

Hardly any riders took part in this morning’s opening practice session at the 4.445km circuit after morning showers left the track surface wet; revised regulations led to World Supersport teams opting to save their tyre allocation for later in the weekend when the weather is expected to improve.

With the circuit dry for this afternoon’s session, van der Mark was looking comfortable before a crash at Phillip Island’s Lukey Heights meant he was forced to return to his pitbox, losing almost half the 45-minute session while his crew repaired damage to his Honda CBR600RR machine.

His Pata Honda team-mate Lorenzo Zanetti suffered technical problems and also lost around 20 minutes, eventually finishing in 14th place.