In 2013, at the helm of a Samsung Honda, Alex Lowes claimed the British Superbike title with Crew Chief Ian Prestwood.

The year after, Lowes moved up to the FIM Superbike World Championship with Voltcom Crescent Suzuki, where he worked alongside Pete Jennings. However, as Crescent Racing runs the Yamaha factory machines from the start of 2016, the Lowes-Prestwood partnership is a reality again and both are relishing the challenge. They spare a few minutes for WorldSBK.com…

WorldSBK.com: Ian and Alex, you’re back together! How does it feel?
Ian Prestwood: I’m gutted! [Laughs]

Alex Lowes: He would be gutted because I’m a pain in the arse!

IP: No, it’s really good! It was a bit strange not to be together for the last two years.

AL: Yes, really good! We got on really well in 2013. It would have been nice to continue that for the last couple of years but we haven’t been able to, so to get back together for next year – which comes at an important time for me, as it’s a big opportunity with the new bike – will be good for me. It’s what I need.

How did it all begin?
IP: I got involved through racing myself, then realised that I was better with a spanner than I was with a handlebar! From 2002 I worked for Rob Mac (Rob McElnea and his Rob Mac Racing team) until the end of 2011 when he packed in. I have known Alex since he was a little lad because I knew his dad, Stuart. When I was racing, Stuart was racing. This was club level racing in 1995-ish, somewhere around there. The same paddock but different classes. I was on a 125 and Stuart on a Superbike. I first actually worked with Alex a little bit at the end of 2011. Honda then gave me a job for 2012 and in 2013 they employed Alex. It all just fell together. It was a bit of a dream year, really.

AL: 2013 feels like a while ago because the last couple of years have been tough! When it’s not going to plan, it always seems like a lot longer. I have had a couple of tough years, but I’ve learned quite a lot. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I would be as ready for next year as I am now. I have definitely learned a lot and everything is in place for 2016. I am really happy to have ‘Presty’ back with me, right from the first test. He understands me really well, he wants to do well and he wants to win.

Alex, this means you won’t be working with Pete Jennings as Crew Chief next year…
AL: I worked with Pete this year and he is a good guy, we got on well. I’m not quite sure what he is doing next year, but I am sure he will do a good job. I wish him all the best and I’m lucky to have everything fall into place with the package and the people around me for next year. For me, I have a new project both on race weekends and away from race weekends, and it is massively important to have everything in place so I can do as well as I can possibly do.

Ian, WorldSBK is a whole new challenge for you…
IP: Yes, haven’t worked in World Superbike before. Really, for a test like the Jerez test which was our first one, it’s not too different from what I’ve done before. The biggest differences are the size of the team, the number of people involved and the electronics side of it. The extra traveling will be different too. But with the bike and the team package we have, all of the potential is there!

Alex, we can’t conclude the interview without talking a bit about the bike. The Yamaha YZF-R1 has already been extremely successful. How is it going?
AL: Obviously we don’t know everything about the bike yet, but I am pretty sure that – whether it’s after a few races or towards the end of the year – we are going to be challenging for race wins. The bike has been out for a year now, but it has been racing to very different regulations to what you find in World Superbike. There is a lot of work to do but I can feel the potential in the bike. When you’re not on a package with which can get you the results you feel you deserve, you are never 100% sure about how you are riding; in the odd race when you feel like you have ridden really well, you might only come out of it with a sixth place. It is hard to take positives from that against the other guys, but I am confident in my own ability. I’m pretty sure we can challenge at the front.

What can you tell us about the initial configuration of the new machine?
AL: In terms of seating position and stuff like that, we are still making adjustments and there are some things we need to try at the Aragon test next week. The next two tests in Aragon and Jerez will be to confirm our feelings from the first test (also in Jerez). We won’t have many new things to try until the New Year, but it’s just about getting comfy on the bike, understanding it a bit more and then going into the Christmas break with a clear direction of what we need to do in the New Year.

Andrea Dosoli (Road Racing Project Manager for Yamaha Motor Europe) has said that you and Sylvain Guintoli provide very similar feedback. How important is that?
AL: That is always helpful because some riders have different feelings. If we have the same complaints, that should mean that the list of things to change is similar and that makes it easier for everybody. If we can keep providing similar comments, that will always be a bonus. I’m sure, further down the line and when we get down to the knitty gritty, it will become more personalised in terms of styles and preferences, but for now we are very much asking for the same things about the main items.

So, straight from the horse’s mouth…is this new Yamaha as incredible as everybody says it is?
AL: The initial feeling on the bike is fantastic. When you leave pit lane it sounds great, feels great and the natural balance of the bike is really good. But the initial feelings you get about how nice is feels are soon put to the back of your mind: you realise that, yes, this bike has potential to do well and win. To get to that stage of winning, you have so much work to do. You are straight into work mode to understand what to do. But the actual base of the bike and how it feels – natural seating position, how it handles and the general feeling of the engine – is really, really great. It’s fantastic, I’d say.