Top Five For Lowes In Estoril ...

Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani finished fifth and 11th respectively in a stopped and restarted WorldSBK Race One at Estoril. The planned 21-lap race was reduced to 20, after the first attempted start was red-flagged because of a Turn One crash.

In Superpole Qualifying on Saturday morning Alex set the fourth quickest lap. He was just 0.035 seconds from the third place lap time and what would have been a front row starting position. Axel was ninth in Superpole Qualifying, earning a third row start in the process.

The opening race lasted one corner until three riders, including Axel, crashed. With the track surface compromised a clean-up operation was required, meaning the restarted Race One was over 20 laps, not the scheduled 21.

Lowes was well inside the fight for the first few off-podium positions from the outset of the restarted race, and finally ended up fifth on his bimota KB998 Rimini machine. He had been as high as fourth, but was passed by one rider near the end.

Bassani was one of those involved in the first corner crash that brought out the red flags, but like all the other riders he was able to make the restarted 20-lap contest.

Axel’s pit crew had to build up a new bike for him after the crash, and this proved to have a slightly different feel compared to Axel’s regular machine. Bassani pushed as hard as he felt he could and finished Race One in 11th position overall, scoring more championship points.

The ten-lap Tissot-Superpole Race and a second 21-lap Race Two will complete the Estoril weekend on Sunday 12 October, before the final round takes place next weekend in Spain.

Alex Lowes stated: “It is very close in WorldSBK now, so a little bit more or less in Superpole Qualifying can make a difference of two or three rows. Any time we are on the first two rows is mission accomplished for us. It also helps put us in a good position for Sunday. I struggled with the front tyre in the race, more than I expected. I knew I needed to get good track position early on. With our bike, when you can ride your own lines, we can be a bit faster. Before the red flag came out to stop the race, I had passed Alvaro Bautista for third place, and it would have been easier from there. In the second start, I was stuck in sixth place, behind the Yamahas. After five or six laps, I was struggling with the front and couldn’t really pass. I felt like maybe I could have been a bit stronger. The front was sliding a lot, so I was happy to finish fifth.”

Axel Bassani stated: “In Superpole Qualifying, I had a good first pit exit. On my second lap, I was improving my lap time, but at T6, I completely lost the rear. I managed to recover, but I lost some time. We started the race from P9, which was not so bad. In the first start, in the first corner, I was on the side of Andrea Iannone. When I went to touch the throttle, I completely lost the front and tried to save the bike. I touched with Michael van der Mark, and we crashed. Being in the centre of that was a scary moment, because I was in the middle of all the bikes. After the red flag, we had the possibility to restart the race, but we had to race with a second bike, which was different from my usual bike. It was not working the same and I finished in P11, which is not really good, but in the end, we finished the race and scored some points. After a crash, it is always good that you can restart and get to the end. Now, we will examine the data and get ready for Sunday’s races.”