Alex Lowes on crash with Jonathan Rea: ‘Nothing to do with him, it was a mistake on my part’

Alex Lowes admits he was at fault for his Race 2 incident with Jonathan Rea, just hours after a brilliant podium.

21 Apr 2024

Keeping himself firmly in title contention, Alex Lowes made several excellent overtakes on his way to an important P3 in the Superpole Race.

Lowes picked off Jonathan Rea on the penultimate lap after Remy Gardner opened the door for the Kawasaki rider.

Then, Lowes used his pace advantage over the Yamaha in sectors three and four to get close heading into the final chicane.

Late on the brakes, Lowes got his ZX-10RR stopped just in time to claim his third podium of the season - Lowes’ other two podiums were victories at the season-opener in Phillip Island.

Speaking about the Superpole Race, Lowes said: “Yeah it was good. We used the SCQ tyre. There wasn’t much dry track time this weekend and I felt great at the start. I was able to make some passes.

“The speed on the bike was good. Then, like everyone, the tyre didn’t quite last but I had a good battle with Jonathan [Rea] and Remy [Gardner] and was able to do the famous Assen last corner attack on Remy.

“It was nice to be back on the podium and a good way to start the day.”

In Race 2, Lowes got a poor start which made his recovery very difficult as the riders ahead of him were all setting similar lap times.

Lowes, who had previously finished every race so far in 2024, then collided with former team-mate Rea which led to him retiring from the race.

“I crashed,” admitted Lowes. “I crashed on the inside when trying to pass him. I could see he was dropping from the group.

“I struggled at the start with the X tyre but after three or four laps I felt strong. I tried to make the pass at turn one but it’s a corner that really tightens up and you can go wide, or take another rider wide.

“I just tried to squeeze the brake to make the apex and crashed by myself. But because I was in a position trying to pass him he had nowhere to go.

“Nothing to do with him. It was my fault and I apologised to him. It was a mistake on my part.”