Alex Lowes was fighting at the front at a soaked Sepang in Race 2 as the Yamaha rider started from his best ever qualifying after splitting the Kawasaki pairing of poleman Sykes and Championship leader Rea on the front row. The Pata Yamaha squad have shown fantastic qualifying form throughout the season, struggling sometimes in races as the team and riders become more familiar with the brand new YZF R1.

Running sixth for the opening lap of the concluding contest, Lowes continued to hold the front group as the race began before suffering with rear-grip issues and dropping to ninth on the fourth lap. Using the ensuing five laps to regroup, the British rider commenced his comeback on lap nine, increasing his pace and returning to his opening position of sixth by lap 12. Continuing to close the gap to the top five on the following lap, a high-side into the entry of turn 12 resulted in Lowes' early retirement from Race 2, requiring treatment by the circuit's medical staff. Suffering a fracture to his left clavicle, the Brit is back in his home country for further assessment in the coming days.

"I really struggled from the start of race two with rear grip coming out of the corners compared to the guys around me," explained Lowes. "I tried my best to perform as well as I could, using different lines and changing my body position to compensate, and then with about six laps to go I tried to push a bit more. I actually managed to make some good passes and was looking at another top five finish but then ultimately I tried a bit hard for the grip I had and paid the price for it. It was quite a heavy crash and I'm in quite a bit of pain but I just need to get myself fixed up and hopefully be back as soon as possible."

The next Round of the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship sees the paddock back in Europe at Lowes' home Round at Donington Park for another weekend of racing thrills under very different skies.