Alex Lowes: Ducati riders ‘can ride so fast straight away’

Lowes ended his 2023 WorldSBK season watching from the sidelines after suffering an eye injury during a clash with Toprak Razgatlioglu.

But the Kawasaki rider was able to take part in the two-day test that preceded the season-finale, as he finished one spot behind former team-mate Jonathan Rea in fourth. 

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“It was really important for me after the crash on the weekend,”began Lowes. “Was important to test with Jonathan [Rea] moving on. I'm the only one with experience on the Kawasaki to back-to-back the new items. 

“I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t be in too good of a condition to ride. My eyes and face were okay. A bit uncomfortable but we managed to get 70 laps in and work hard on some new parts. 

“The base of the Kawasaki is so strong that it’s hard to improve. We tried some 2024 items. There were some positives and some negatives. But we needed these laps.”

Ducati ‘so fast’

Like others who don’t ride Ducati machines, Lowes had to watch Nicolo Bulega and Andrea Iannone show huge potential during their first outing aboard the Panigale V4 R.

A worry ahead of next season, Lowes said the pace of the Ducati is allowing riders to be ‘so fast straight away’. 

Lowes told WorldSBK.com: “With some new guys joining the championship and we see how strong the Ducati is - they can ride so fast straight away. 

“We have some work to do and we need to work hard. It’s an important winter for us, and for me.”

With regards to what Lowes was able to test at Jerez, new parts including an updated engine spec were spotted. 

“The engine spec is different and there are some different parts from Showa,” said Lowes. “It’s all the small details that can make a big difference. 

“You put a new engine spec in and want to feel the thing fly up the straight, but that’s not the reality of where we are. It’s small little gains that will make the difference.”