It was a successful home round for Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) as the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship descended on Donington Park for Round 5 of the 2024 season. The British rider continued his run of top-six finishes while adding two more trophies to his collection during the Prosecco DOC UK Round, claiming second in Saturday’s Race 1 and third in Sunday’s Race 2.
Lowes had to fight his way to the rostrum on Saturday, starting from ninth, and he moved up the order in Sunday’s Tissot Superpole Race to fifth to secure a second row start for Race 2. He utilised this well in the 23-lap Sunday afternoon race to claim third place, his second podium of the weekend and his sixth of the season. It also means he’s now visited the rostrum in four out of five rounds this season, and he’s finished inside the top six in all but one race.
Discussing his Sunday success, Lowes said: “I’m really happy. Starting from fifth place instead of ninth, that row one up, helped me in the first couple of laps. Scott was really strong in the first six or seven laps but I could see that I was maybe a little bit quicker. I managed to pass him. I wasn’t really thinking about Toprak, he’s been on another level this weekend especially, a win for me would’ve been to get P2 like Saturday. Nicolo was so fast and consistent. Every time I gained one or two tenths, he managed to open it up again. The last six or seven laps, I was sliding a little bit on the front. With a little cushion behind, I didn’t want to lose the podium. It would’ve been nice to have a little bit more speed at the end, but I can’t complain. The team have done a fantastic job, we’ve been strong all weekend. It’s a busy week for your home round. You’re doing a lot of stuff before the weekend, you’ve got family and friends here, so to deliver two podiums, I’m really happy.”
With the #22 having to fight through the field in Race 1 and the Superpole Race, he was able to fight on track with twin brother Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), former teammate Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) and reigning Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) to name just a few. The Brit expanded on his fight with just some of his rivals when speaking on Sunday afternoon, explaining how he tried to manage the battles.
Lowes said: “Sam’s learning all the time in World Superbike. It’s a tough place to come at Donington Park. He rode here before but not on the WorldSBK bike. Battling with Jonny is always great. I’ve had plenty of good battles the last few weekends with Alvaro. I enjoyed the battling. I tried to be precise and clean if I made a pass, not miss the apex. You have to be a bit aggressive now otherwise, if you’re not attacking, people are attacking you. It was enjoyable but stressful at times.”
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Source: WorldSBK.com