After an uphill last two MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship rounds in Central Europe, Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) made his way back onto the podium in the opening race of the Aragon Round. The result is a breath of fresh air for the Brit, who had been without stepping onto the rostrum since his P3 triple at Assen. Raising his career WorldSBK tally to nine, one race into the round at MotorLand Aragon, as the midway point of his third season in the Championship draws nearer
The #14 would have been forgiven for riding on eggshells in Saturday Morning’s Tissot Superpole session after crashes in both Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 3. despite returning to boxes with dusty leathers Saturday morning, Lowes managed a 1’47.405s Superpole time, good for P4 on the timesheet, but it was upgraded to P3 due to FIM WorldSBK Stewards applying Albert Surra a Yellow Flag Protocol Infringement, resulting in a Back of Grid Penalty.
“I had pace, but the two guys in front were just a little bit stronger”
The British rider left room for improvement on his race start at lights out, while the factory Ducati pair flew forward. Sam was slower off the line, seeing P3 taken from him by his Bimota-powered brother Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) on the run into Turn 1. The Ducati Independent rider got his revenge on the run into Turn 1 to retake the provisional bronze medal. While the #14 went on to finish eight seconds off of Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) up front in P1, the British rider showcased his independent Ducati Panigale V4R’s pace as he finished another eight seconds clear of his brother Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) behind him in P4.
On his Race 1 performance, Sam Lowes said: “It’s been a couple of tough weekends, and I knew, coming here, I could be strong. We had a good test at Misano. I was happy with my lap in Superpole. I made a small mistake in the last sector, or I think it could’ve been a little bit better. I had a bit of traffic with the first lap of the tyre, which was unfortunate. I really enjoyed the race. In the first 7 or 8 laps, I had good pace, but the two guys in front were just a little bit stronger. It’s really a limit on the front in those conditions, so I’m happy to manage it well. That’ll give me some confidence heading into tomorrow, but I think we can make a small step.”
“I think I was a bit too cautious”
While the rostrum result is a welcome return to tasting the prosecco for both him and his team, the British rider aspires to fight with the factory Ducati riders ahead of him. While he only logged two laps faster than Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) ahead of him in P2 – nearly two tenths faster on Lap 6 and Lap 7 – The #14 feels that his Race 1 result was a necessary one to get the rust off after a pair of off-pace rounds and looks to pick a fight with the #7 and #11 on Sunday.
On his Race 1 mistake and what he hopes to take from it, Sam Lowes said: “I was a bit nervous in the first laps after crashing on my first lap on the harder tyre this morning, and yesterday in FP1. I think I was a bit too cautious. I misjudged the start, and Alex passed. He had a good first lap, and I passed him into Turn 1. Obviously, our package is stronger here, so I knew I had to get past. I did feel like the third-best man, so I don’t think it would’ve made much difference in the end, but I feel like I needed that race to give me more of a chance tomorrow.”
Sam Lowes returns for the final day of action at Aragon on Sunday, with the Warm Up session getting started at 9:20 local time (UTC +2). Watch live with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 30% off!