Michael van der Mark exclusive: BMW had this much in reserve at the Bol d’Or

For Michael van der Mark, winning the 2026 Endurance World Championship was a triumph with special significance. Together with Markus Reiterberger and Steven Odendaal, the Dutchman led the BMW works team to victory at the Bol d’Or, securing BMW’s first EWC title.

Van der Mark knows what it feels like to win a world championship. In 2014, he became Supersport World Champion, and he has also claimed victories in the Superbike World Championship and enjoyed major successes in endurance racing. Nevertheless, he views the EWC triumph differently.

“It was on a different level,” van der Mark explained in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com. “When I became Supersport World Champion, it was of course also a kind of team sport, but in the end it was just me on the motorbike. Now there were three of us.”

Even more important to the 33-year-old than adding another world title to his personal record, however, was the person to whom he was able to dedicate this success. “The best thing for me was winning the title for Werner and BMW,” emphasised van der Mark, referring to team boss Werner Daemen. “After what happened last year, I think everyone agreed that they deserved this title more than ever. Of course, it’s fantastic to win another World Championship title. But I was even happier to have achieved it for Werner and BMW.”

The drama of 2025 remained in the back of his mind

A year earlier, BMW had dramatically lost the World Championship title – which had been within their grasp – at the Bol d’Or. Van der Mark wasn’t there at the time, but followed the action from afar whilst on a trip to the USA.

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“I could only follow the live timing,” he recalls. “I remember it very clearly. I couldn’t see any footage, but friends sent me messages. That’s how I knew something wasn’t right. It was painful.” That memory still lingered with the team twelve months later. Yet their confidence in their own ability was immense.

“We knew throughout the season that we were virtually unbeatable in terms of pace and the overall package,” explained van der Mark. “But this is endurance racing, and you have to get to the finish line first. We had a great deal of self-confidence, but after what had happened the year before, everyone was still afraid.”

Michael van der Mark mit Teamkollege Markus Reiterberger

Foto: BMW

At the 2026 season finale, BMW also found itself in an unusual position. The gap to defending champions YART was so large that Reiterberger, Odendaal and van der Mark couldn’t afford to play tactical games. The objective was therefore as simple as could be: BMW had to aim for the maximum points haul at every race.

“The goal was clear to us. We had to be the fastest and score as many points as possible at every stage,” explained van der Mark. “In a way, that actually made it easier for us. We didn’t have to think about the World Championship, just about finishing first everywhere.”

They achieved this almost perfectly. “I think the warm-up was the only session we didn’t lead. The weekend was simply perfect. And it was exactly the same in the race: we did exactly what we had to do.”

Van der Mark kept his eyes closed during the YART attack

Nevertheless, the 24 Hours of Le Castellet wasn’t entirely without tense moments. When YART rider Karel Hanika caught up with BMW rider Steven Odendaal during the race and a duel developed between the two, things got a bit uncomfortable for van der Mark too.

YART vs. BMW: Karel Hanika im Duell mit Steven Odendaal

Foto: YART

“I just closed my eyes,” the Dutchman revealed with a laugh. “Of course, you’re out there racing and fighting for the World Championship. So naturally, the others are going to give it a go.”

However, his immense confidence in the M1000RR ensured that his nerves remained in check. “We were so strong this weekend – I’d say almost unbeatable. Even if someone tried, we knew we could step it up again at any time and ride faster.”

BMW still had plenty more pace in reserve

Just how much pace they actually had in reserve is shown by van der Mark’s assessment of the lap times. After BMW had already built up a comfortable lead after eight hours and saved a pit stop thanks to a more efficient strategy, the main priority was to get the M1000RR safely through the remaining distance.

“After eight hours, everyone was actually riding at a similar pace. But we’d already built up a nice lead,” van der Mark recalled. At that point, BMW was mostly lapping in the 1:53–1:54 range.

Michael van der Mark auf der Werks-BMW

Foto: BMW

The M1000RR was by no means at its limit. “If we’d really had to push, I reckon we could have clocked 1:52s,” van der Mark is convinced.

However, BMW was able to avoid taking that extra risk. “At some point, you have to be smart, because there’s still a long way to go at that stage. So we could have ridden much faster, but fortunately that wasn’t necessary.”

Instead, Reiterberger, Odendaal and van der Mark controlled their lead right up to the chequered flag. Following the painful loss of the title in 2025, BMW made the most of this second chance and made history by securing the brand’s first EWC World Championship title.

Weltmeister: Teamchef Daemen mit Reiterberger, Odendaal und van der Mark

Foto: BMW