Being 12th in Superpole, and clinging on to the fourth row by your new BMW winglets, was not the best place for Michael van der Mark to find himself for the first two WorldSBK races in Portugal.

He was seventh off the grid for race two, attacking the track as he makes fast friends with his new M1000RR factory bike. He finished sixth, and is now seventh in the championship standings, and first BMW rider.

“We are improving and I think the main thing, for us the biggest improvement, is consistency,” said the former WorldSSP Champion and four-time WorldSBK race winner. “Even yesterday and this morning in warm-up and also race two, we were really consistent and this was a bit of a problem with the BMW before.

"So I’m really happy with the step forward we made. Today in race two, I sat behind my old bike for quite a while. I see that we have to improve the first bit of drive out of the corner. This is where we lose everything compared to the other bikes.

"So I was really happy with my pace, but for me it was also good to follow the other guys. We know that the bike is not ready yet to fight for a podium, but at least now we know where to improve. To finish sixth, some guys crashed, but first we have to finish and we were able to do a really good result this weekend.”

With only two rounds gone on his M1000RR so far, VDM is not quite sure if tracks layouts or conditions are more challenging for his new bike, but he is looking forward to a track he likes a lot which is next up, Misano. “I think because the bike has changed quite a lot, also the electronics has changed a lot, it’s difficult.

Last year they had really bad results here, so I think the whole bike has improved, but it’s also quite a different bike compared to last year. So I don't know really what to expect. But Misano is one of my favourite tracks. The way I feel now on the BMW, the confidence I have in the front, they say that the new surface there in Misano is a lot of grip. It’s what I need. So I think we can do really well there as well.”

Being in the factory BMW garage is not proving to be much different from his former Honda and Yamaha set-up, according to VDM. “It’s all the same. They’re all professionals. Everybody wants me to be the best. Everybody works their ass off. Of course there are some small different things in the team, but at the end I’m the rider. I ride as hard as possible and I give my feedback and the other guys try to help me. So to be honest I think it’s everywhere the same.”

So far the results have been a bit up and down, with even the best so far not quite at podium level. With VDM surprising some with his move to BMW this season, does he feel he can get his new bike right into the top echelons this year. By half way through the season - sooner or later? Where to improve?

“ I think today in the afternoon we lost 0.3 seconds a lap, which at the end of the race is quite a lot but I think we made quite a good step to close that gap,” said Michael. “We have made so many improvements with the electronics and stuff like that. We just need to get some more grip. I think then we can make this next step. The front feels all right. Just send it.

"We are trying our best in different ways. This weekend I had some really good races, full distance races. Just try to improve. Everybody is doing it. I think maybe this weekend we had a little better package, but now we have to stay in front of them.”