News

Lowes back on the podium, retains third in the championship

Monday, 9 September 2019 10:21 GMT

    • The British rider was back on the podium for the first time since June this weekend, with plenty of expectation lying ahead in the remaining three rounds

    Back on the podium for the first time since the Tissot Superpole Race at Misano, Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) took a hat-trick of strong results at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal. The British rider chose a slightly wrong tyre on Saturday for Race 1’s seventh place, whilst he made amends for it in the Tissot Superpole Race, finishing in third. Rounding out the weekend with a fourth place and coming out on top of a blistering battle, Lowes returns to third in the championship and looks to secure it further as the season develops.

    Besides the races, it was a strong weekend for the 2018 Brno Race 2 winner, finishing inside the top five throughout Free Practice, besides in FP3, when he was 11th. Lowes secured a fifth place on the grid for Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race, before going on to achieve his best result at Portimao during the aforementioned 10-lap dash.

    Reviewing his weekend, the 28-year-old from Lincoln, England, said: “Today’s races were great, I was really frustrated with the first race on Saturday, I think I went for a slightly wrong tyre in Race 1 but today was great. We had lots of good battles and after a few weeks off, it was nice to be racing again! It has always been a tough track for me but this weekend I enjoyed it, and I am satisfied with this weekends results.

    The more important point for Lowes will be that he was able to remain in third overall in the championship, with the same five-point margin he came into the round with. Lowes will be keen to finish as top Yamaha after teammate Michael van der Mark was able achieve it last year.

    Looking ahead to the rest of 2019 and the French Round at Magny-Cours, Lowes stated: “I hope that we can be battling for the podium every weekend now; this is my target in Magny-Cours, Argentina and Qatar. Magny-Cours is a track I really like as it is good for the R1, it has some long corners and the bike turns really well. I’ve got positive memories there and I’m looking forward to getting there in three weeks.”

    Will Lowes be able to fight for the podium places at Magny-Cours, or even battle for the win? Find out with the WorldSBK VideoPass!