Now with heavy responsibilities on the five-time Superbike World Champion Kawasaki, Alex performed very well and obtained a good final ranking despite difficult weather.
The Jerez track experienced changeable weather and an often wet surface during these tests, lasting most of the first day and much of the second. As the surface began to dry on the final day, five-time World Champion Johnny Rea ended up being the fastest of all, with a best lap of 1'40.983. Lowes was fourth overall in 1'41.642 at the end of practice and 0,659 seconds behind Jonathan. Between the two Kawa only Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) managed to fit in 1'41.214 and Redding (Ducati) in 1'41.407.
According to alex lowes, “It was a very good test and I am happy to have been able to ride in mixed conditions. I was fast in wet and drying track conditions and I'm starting to feel a lot more comfortable on the bike. »
“I really enjoyed it and I feel like we're taking a few steps in the right direction ahead of Phillip Island. I feel like I have a good driving position now, one that I can maintain. »
“We haven't had a lot of dry track time, but I definitely feel more comfortable than when I got here, so that's positive. Every time you ride a new track it's great and Montmeló is a new addition to the calendar. It will be important to do as many laps as possible and understand the bike well. Any track time is important to allow me to continue to build my confidence for the first race. It was a very good test and I'm happy to have been able to ride the bike in different conditions. »
“I was fast in wet and dry conditions and I feel much more comfortable on the bike now. Conditions kept getting better and better, but it never became perfect. For a real test the conditions weren't really good, but for me they were ideal. When you get used to a new motorcycle, you have to try a lot of things to understand it well. »
“On Wednesday I did a few laps in the wet and with a few small changes I felt very good on the bike and on Thursday morning too. When the conditions improved, I switched to slicks very early, because you can have such conditions in a race. »
“The Kawasaki gave me good sensations in all conditions. Later, when it was completely dry, I experimented with some modifications to the chassis, but there wasn't really much to try. »
“Overall I felt even better and I'm very happy with the laps we did in Jerez. We also tested the starts because the system is not yet familiar to me. »
“I had the seating position and settings changed a little. When I go to the track now, I feel like it’s “my bike”. But these were really only minimal changes. At our level, sometimes it’s small things that make a big change. »
To Marcel Duinker, team leader of Alex Lowes, “Maybe 75% of our track time during this test was wet, but it gave us the opportunity to let Alex get a first impression of the ZX-10RR in these conditions. It was very positive. »
“From the first outing, he felt that the bike behaved very well. He had two exits and only eight fast laps and he went first. What made me happy was that he said to me: “OK, that’s enough in the wet because I know how the bike behaves and performs.” »
“Late Thursday morning, the track started to dry and we went out, first on wet tires, then on slicks. Although the conditions at the time made him five seconds slower than in normal dry conditions, Alex again topped the timesheets. He showed a lot of potential and confidence in the bike, regardless of the conditions. One more track day for next week and then we're off to Phillip Island. »
Photos © Kawasaki
