alex lowes had a perfect Sunday in Australia for the first round of the World Championship World SBK Superbike at Phillip Island, Australia. He scored a stunning victory in the 10-lap Superpole race, then followed it up with a second victory on the Ninja ZX-10RR in a race-2 shortened to 11 laps. The first round of the season ended with two victories for Lowes for KRT, but also with the experienced British driver taking the championship lead.
The Superpole race began with alex lowes on the front row after finishing third in Superpole qualifying. He took advantage of his leading position to stay in contention for the podium in the opening laps, then took the lead of the race and then set his own pace as the battle for the other podium places went on just enough far behind, allowing him to control the race in the last three laps.
It was the Alex Lowes' first race win for Kawasaki since joining KRT in 2020, when he won the second race at Phillip Island in his first weekend in green.
Given his success in the Superpole race, the number 22 had high hopes of getting on the podium again in what was to be a 2-lap race-20, albeit split into two halves by the regulations and with one stop Mandatory for changing tires. After a large oil leak from one of the Australian championship machines led to reduced grip at T2 and T3, a lengthy track cleaning protocol was put in place. This caused a significant delay in the WorldSSP and WorldSBK races and reduced the final WorldSBK race to an 11-lap 'sprint', albeit for full points.
A tense, high-speed battle ensued for alex lowes behind the leader Álvaro Bautista. When Andrea Locatelli crashed in the fourth corner towards the end of the race, the Kawasaki rider knew he could overtake Álvaro Bautista before the flag, thanks to the better grip of its tires. He adjusted his pass from the outside perfectly and kept the official Ducati behind him at the finish line, just enough to record a winning margin of 0,048 seconds.
With two full scores on Sunday, added to his fourth place in the first race on Saturday, alex lowes has 50 championship points, nine more than the next driver, Nicholas Bulega.
After a remarkable first round in many respects, the next competition for the new KRT spearhead will take place near the team's base, at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, between March 22 and 24. A major WorldSBK test session will be held at the same venue ahead of the race weekend, March 14-15.
Alex Lowes: “It’s been a long time since we won, but we worked hard. After the Superpole race, I was very emotional, I think I cried during the lap. In the second race I thought I would have a better chance if the race was longer. I was a little disappointed after Tuesday's pre-race testing, as my tire life seemed good. We have worked very hard to make the bike smoother and easier to manage this year. We shouldn't have too many illusions about this last race. We know that it is a special circuit, but you always have to manage the race well so that the bike preserves its tires. I think my tire was the best at the end of the race. Alvaro's bike was moving a lot and he couldn't enter the corners. I stayed behind and tried to spare the tire as much as possible. I am obviously very happy. The winter was very important, it allowed many small details to change. I'm fit and strong now, which improves my confidence. I did a good job today. I'm going to enjoy the moment because we've done a really good job this week. To get two wins today was fantastic, and I was very happy to enjoy it. The guys did a fantastic job throughout the weekend. »
Results of the Superbike Superpole race at Phillip Island:
Results of race-2 of the Superbikes at Phillip Island:
Photo credits and rankings: Worldsbk.com
