Pata Honda rider Michael van der Mark took his Honda CBR600RR to a second World Supersport victory at the fifth-round race at Donington Park in the UK and so extended his championship lead to 14 points.

The 21-year-old Dutch ace started today’s 20-lap race around the 4.023km Donington circuit from pole position, but a bad start left van der Mark in sixth place in the opening laps. However, he worked his way to the front and enjoyed a thrilling last-lap battle with Frenchman Jules Cluzel, who was second today, and British rider Kev Coghlan who completed the podium.

But van der Mark’s joy was tempered by despair for his Pata Honda team-mate Lorenzo Zanettit who was forced to retire from the race with a mechanical problem when the 26-year-old Italian looked certain for another podium finish.

Zanetti won the last World Supersport championship race at Imola in Italy and held third place in the standings until this sudden retirement when he was running third, just five laps from the end of the race.

Michael van der Mark - first

Michael van der Mark It’s been an amazing weekend and we were really fast from the beginning when it was dry on Friday. Yesterday, in the wet, I took my first pole position but today my start to the race wasn’t that good. I struggled with grip in the first few laps but later in the race, when I found my own pace, I got faster and faster. I caught the group in front of me and passed them slowly. When I managed to pass them I was able to go away and then had a nice fight with Jules [Cluzel]. I made a few small mistakes and for the last two corners I didn’t want to take too much risk. I’m really happy and want to thank the team – we’ve worked hard all weekend and then I had a silly crash in warm-up. Luckily they were able to repair the bike quickly and it was perfect today.

Lorenzo Zanetti - DNF

I’m really disappointed and angry, but I know this is racing. I started really well and know that Ihad potential to fight for the win. I pushed to stay with the first group and had everything undercontrol. I was waiting for the last three or four laps before I wanted to push but the bike brokebefore then. Everything was OK before then and the bike felt great and it’s important to befighting for the win. But this is racing. I think I can fight at every race now, even if I like sometracks more than others. I’ve had two DNFs now and Mikey’s [van der Mark] win today didn’t helpthe in championship but fighting for the win is important for my career.Pieter Breddels - technical co-ordinator

Pieter Breddels It was a mixed day today. Lorenzo rode strongly right from the start and looked sure to be heading for the podium before his mechanical problem. I felt so sorry for him because he was riding really well and deserved a podium. Michael got off to a slow start from his pole position and it took him a while to get into a groove. When he finally got into a good rhythm he was really strong and battled the last few laps with Cluzel and got the better of him to win. He has a clear lead in the championship now, so we’re very happy for that.