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Lowes Scores Superpole Race Podium
Alex Lowes took his official Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR to third place in Sunday’s ten-lap Tissot-Superpole Race at Autodrom Most, equalling his Superpole qualifying performance on Saturday morning. Axel Bassani (KRT) had a best Sunday race result of 13th, also in the ten-lap ‘sprint’.
The Tissot Superpole Race would ultimately deliver a hard-fought podium finish for Lowes. He had been relegated to fifth on lap one but battled his way back to fourth place on lap two. It looked like he might remain there for the entire race, but the battling Ducati duo of Alvaro Bautista and Niccolo Bulega would run wide into T1 on the final lap, with Bautista crashing and no-scoring.
Bulega got back on track, but Lowes was not far behind. Alex tried to pass before the finish line and was less than 0.5 seconds from second placed Bulega after ten dramatic laps. This was his seventh podium of the season so far.
Axel, starting from 18th on the Superpole Race grid, moved up to 13th at the flag, in what was a hot first Sunday race for the WorldSBK riders.
In the final 22-lap Race Two of the Most weekend Lowes accidentally jump-started, earning a double long lap penalty which compromised his race on not one but two occasions. He dropped to 15th place at one stage but showed real pace to come back and finish in ninth place.
Race Two would have an even tougher outcome for Bassani, as he fell trying to pass another rider on the final lap.
In the championship standings, Alex remains fourth overall, and 20 points behind third place. Axel is 12th overall.
Three weeks after Most, the seventh round of the WorldSBK championship will take place at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, in Portugal, between 9-11 August.
Alex Lowes, stated: “I would have been fourth in that Superpole race but for Alvaro’s fall. It is hard to pass at this circuit but in some parts of this track the bike is working so well, I can be so fast. A tough race but I can be very happy to be on the podium again. I will take that after Saturday’s no-score. To be back on the podium here at Most, I honestly didn’t expect it, and the pace was really strong. I was not comfortable at the start of the second race and I was not sure if the bike was in first gear or not. We have been trying lots of different things with the clutch for the starts, as it is so important now. Qualifying well and starting well can really change your race in WorldSBK. I went to move the clutch just to see if the gear had engaged, and the bike jumped forward. I was not trying to anticipate the start, I was just trying to feel if it was in gear. That was a first for me, a jump start like that, and I got a double long-lap penalty. The race was tough from there. But, my pace was good, very similar to podium rider Andrea Locatelli and also Remy Gardner. This was a positive in these hot conditions. Most was a difficult track for us so if we can be as competitive as we were in Superpole, the Superpole Race, both main races and in the mix with the Ducatis, I think we can look forward to the next few rounds.”
Axel Bassani, stated: “Race Two was a little bit better than yesterday. We finally did some laps with Alex and we were in the mix but in the last lap I tried to overtake Xavi Vierge. Unfortunately I made a mistake and I crashed on the outside. Otherwise, it was quite a good race and we were a little bit nearer to the leaders than the first race on Saturday. For sure this has been a little bit of a difficult weekend for me and I need to stop and reset a little bit, and then we go to Portimao.”
