Lowes to test Pirelli’s new SCQ tyre in Portimao, looking for better ‘rhythm’

Alex Lowes has confirmed he will test Pirelli’s new SCQ Superpole race tyre during the upcoming two-day WorldSBK test at Portimao. 

Lowes, who finished fastest on day-one of last week’s Jerez test - albeit there were only four riders who took part - the one-time WorldSBK race winner was second on day-two as team-mate Jonathan Rea went 1.4 seconds quicker. 

Like Rea, Lowes was scheduled to test Pirelli’s new SCQ Superpole and Superpole race tyre during the closing stages of Thursday’s action, however, the 30 year-old ran out of time after a rear modification took longer than expected to evaluate. 

Instead, the third-year Kawasaki rider will now try the new tyre during the upcoming Portimao test which takes place on February 8-9. It’s a test that will also see Yamaha, Ducati and BMW all begin their 2022 WorldSBK preparations.  

"To be honest I really wanted to try that (SCQ tyre) but at the end of the day we were trying a different modification on the bike," Lowes told the official World Superbike website. "It took a little bit longer than expected so I missed maybe 50 minutes of track time and the plan was to finish with this tyre. 

"I said to my crew chief Marcel [Duinker], it doesn’t feel like I want to push hard on those tyres today, so we scratched that (plan) and will wait for Portimao when we have perhaps a bit better rhythm and time." 

Lowes was the Japanese manufacturer’s only factory rider in action during the first day at Jerez, however, KRT still used two bikes as former WorldSSP, STK1000, STK600 rider and now coach to Lowes, Florian Marino also tested several new parts that Kawasaki introduced. 

While Marino isn’t Kawasaki’s official test rider, the added information gathered from riding Rea’s bike is something Lowes believes will help him particularly on race weekends. 

Lowes added: "Florian was able to help us with introducing a couple of new things, to try and get them more ready for when me and Jonathan ride. 

"It’s nice to have Florian on the bike. I work with him every weekend as a coach, and if he understands the bike a bit more from the experience he gets from riding it, I think he’s going to be able to help me a little bit more. 

"It’s positive for the team to try to help with the testing load and it’s positive for me because I think he can give me some better information on the race weekends."