Seventh For Lowes In Race One

bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team rider Alex Lowes finished the opening race at the Donington Park round in seventh place, with his team-mate Axel Bassani in ninth position.

In the Tissot Superpole Qualifying session, Alex would end up seventh on the Race One grid, with Axel right behind him in eighth. These results put both bimota KB998 Rimini riders on the third row of the starting grid.

The first race of the Donington Park WorldSBK race weekend, over 23 laps, was held in slightly cooler temperatures than during the first day of practice, but with broadly similar track temperatures present each time.

Using his intimate knowledge of the circuit layout to the full, Lowes got up to fourth place early in the opening race, staying there for five laps. He would end up seventh after two riders passed him on lap six and another on lap 19.

For Bassani, the opening race was as challenging as he thought it might be, and he looked on course for a top eight finish. Running off track late in the race saw him drop another position, placing Axel ninth in the final results.

Sunday 12 July will feature a morning warm-up session, the ten-lap Superpole Race, and finally Race Two, over 23 laps.

Alex Lowes, stated: “I had quite a good race on the bike. I felt like the pace was strong and a little bit better than the pace we had on Friday. I pushed to the last lap and tried to keep consistent. I did everything I could, made a good start and did the best laps I have done in a race, no mistakes. So then to be seventh means this is where we are and we need to keep working to improve. On the first out lap, I saw all the fans near the Melbourne Loop, and I gave them a wave, which was fantastic. It is so much fun to ride at home at Donington Park, it is just a shame that I could not be a bit closer to the front. But in all honesty, I felt like I did a good race and we will try again tomorrow.”

Axel Bassani stated: “Race One at Donington was difficult, and we knew it could be here. It was a quite long race, over 23 laps. My pace was the same as Friday, and on the first laps, I had some difficulty in finding my pace and my position. I had to do some overtaking, and then I was in P8, trying to put down my pace. In T9 - I don’t know why - but I was braking the same way as the lap before, but I lost control of my bike, so I had to go straight on. I lost one place, and in the end, I finished ninth. A top ten here in Donington was my goal this weekend, because usually this is not the best track for me. We took some points, and I hope to continue in this way on Sunday.”