For Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), the return of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship to the Automotodrom Brno after a six year absence will be a more meaningful experience than for most. This Sunday will be the seventh anniversary of his official WorldSBK debut, a special moment in time that happened to also take place at this weekend’s venue.

The year was 2011, and a certain Northern Irish rider named Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), injured at the previous round, required a replacement rider for his Honda CBR1000RR at Brno. Enter Alex Lowes, aged just 20 and competing in the British Superbikes championship. The Brit slotted in admirably, scoring his first WorldSBK point and showing great potential. It would be another two and a half years before Lowes became a permanent fixture in the championship, but the first step was done, and one Brno memory was created.

Back in 2018 and having developed into one of the best riders in the championship, could Lowes mark his Brno anniversary with another first, a WorldSBK win? In the previous round at Donington Park, Lowes was not far off by any means: he led two thirds of Race 2, before a drop off in his bike’s performance knocked the Yamaha rider down to fourth, as his teammate took victory. If the issues have been identified and fixed, perhaps this could be Lowes’ time to shine.

Lowes was last at Brno at the private test a few weeks back, and the feedback couldn’t have been any better: "After testing at Brno, I'm really looking forward to going back there to race. I haven't ridden the track much in the past but I fell in love with it at the test. It's a fantastic circuit with some changes of elevation and some fast-flowing corners. I think it suits the R1 and my goal is simply to fight for podiums!".

How will Lowes respond to the challenge? Find out this weekend thanks to the WorldSBK VideoPass.