Alex Lowes: “There’re 15 or 16 guys that can challenge for the podium”
Alex Lowes expects the fight for the WorldSBK podium to be as intense as ever during this weekend’s Catalunya round.
Victorious in both Sunday WorldSBK races at Phillip Island, Alex Lowes heads into this weekend’s race as the championship leader.
Lowes enjoyed his best start ever to a WorldSBK campaign, as he looks to continue Kawasaki’s impressive results of the past few seasons, in place of six-time world champion Jonathan Rea.
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But while the season-opener seemed to suggest Lowes could be a title contender, the real test of his and Kawasaki’s potential will be this weekend.
Catalunya is known for being very harsh when it comes to tyre wear, which was Kawasaki’s biggest weakness in 2023.
The two-day test last week was a struggle as Lowes suffered several crashes.
And while the podium battle could be a big one according to Lowes, the British rider is aiming to be in the mix.
Lowes said: “There’s not that much grip available so tyres are spinning a lot and with the front tyre, to make the bike turn, it’s using a lot of the tyre.
“There’re 15 or 16 guys that can challenge for the podium. Small details really matter during the weekend and doing the work in practice.
“Once the race weekend starts, different situations arise. Problems, things don’t go the way you want, things go better than you expect and it’s about managing these when the pressure is on.
“Pere [Riba, crew chief to Lowes] has been there and he can relate to a little bit more. Three top six positions, depending on how the race goes maybe we sneak a podium, at a track we know isn’t one of our best would be good for us.
“Sam [Lowes] was one of the fastest guys at the test. If the weekend starts well for him, he has to be confident.
Axel [Bassani] is a good guy to be around, younger than me, but it’s his fourth year in WorldSBK.
“He deserves a factory ride. He needs to transition but he’s doing a good job and he’ll get stronger and stronger.”
