Sam Lowes: Race 2 ‘disappointing, a bit of a baptism of fire for me’

WorldSBK rookie Sam Lowes made a very impressive start to the weekend as he led Race 1 before crashing from the lead at turn ten.

Lowes then made another strong getaway in the Superpole Race as he led the way early on once again. 

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But Lowes began to fade as the race went on, something that happened on an even larger scale during Race 2.

Lowes was a contender for a top seven finish for much of the race before eventually sliding outside the top ten.

The British rider said: “Obviously it was a disappointing Race 2. P12 was not what we wanted. It was a bit of a baptism of fire for me as the drop of the tyre was really big.

“It was difficult for me to manage the last four or five laps. I guess it’s a bit of a lack of experience as the crash in yesterday’s race meant I missed the full race distance. 

“I didn’t have that knowledge to improve today. In the end it was difficult, but I learnt a lot. I just wanted to finish the race.

“At least now we have some things we can improve for Assen. I want to say thank you to the team for the continued hard work but it was a difficult day for me.

“We’ll try to improve from here as it’s clear the speed is there. But the tyre life is something I need to work on and understand a lot better.

“I think it’s normal after coming here from Moto2 on a different bike and a different make of tyre. Step by step we’ll manage it and keep working hard.”