Lowes: “The bike is more important than in the past, Sam can be at the front…”

Lowes is currently on a bike that is seen as the third best when it comes to factory machines in WorldSBK.

Once the manufacturer to beat for many years, Kawasaki have been overtaken by Ducati and Yamaha in previous seasons, however, the rider plays just as big a role as shown by Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu, both of whom have been out-performing their respective teammates for multiple years.

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For Lowes, the British rider has arguably never been stronger when comparing him to six-time world champion Jonathan Rea, as the pair have shown similar speed a several rounds this season.

But while outright pace has been strong at times, struggles late on in races have seen them fail to contend for the podium on a regular basis, particularly in Lowes’ case.

When asked if the performance of a motorcycle plays a greater role than ever before, Lowes said: "Yeah! In motorcycle racing the bike is more important than in the past. MotoGP is the same. 

"You have electronics but if an area of the bike is not working then you can’t make the difference because everything is so tight. 

"In MotoGP there have been many examples where Marc [Marquez], or even Alex Marquez finishing last and then being at the front. Here, Scott [Redding] challenging for the championship and then not challenging for the championship. 

"It’s not just them not trying. But it would be wrong to say it’s not about the bike. But at the same time, Bautista is not just winning because of the bike. 

"I know there are other Ducati riders who are on satellite bikes and all the Ducati satellite bikes have been getting quicker, so the package is good and they are moving closer to the front, but you still need to consistently take everything from the bike."

Lowes could be joined by his brother Sam on the WorldSBK grid in 2024, after the Moto2 rider has been linked with a switch to Ducati.

And although that would likely put his brother in a great position to succeed given the performance of the Panigale V4 R currently, Alex said that various factors will need to happen in order for him to be successful. 

"How do we know in racing, because Remy was unbelievable that year when he won Moto2, and this year the Yamaha is quite an easy bike to ride; sometimes he’s been really fast but at other times not so much. 

"And he beat my brother in Moto2. But then, Sam has beaten all the guys that are winning in MotoGP now, on his best day. He’s not as consistent obviously, but he’s beat Bezzecchi, Marini and Zarco. 

"If he comes here, has confidence and has a good day, then he can be at the front. But, it’s going to depend on the bike, how he feels with the bike - there are a lot of good riders now in WorldSBK with good bikes. 

"Scott Redding is a good rider but the bike… he was pushing until the end [of the race] and did a good job, but it’s the whole package. 

"Good rider, good bike, good confidence and you can be at the front in WorldSBK."