Sam Lowes' "missing a bit of power" fitness update upon comeback
Sam Lowes is back in action and has assessed his fitness
Sam Lowes has provided a fitness update as he returns to World Superbike Championship action this weekend.
Lowes suffered a fractured collarbone at Most, and missed the Portimao round as he recovered, but is back for Magny-Cours.
The ELF Marc VDS Racing Team has been on track at Estoril and Misano to recover his fitness for a full WSBK round.
He said at Magny-Cours: “I’m really happy to be back. It’s never nice to watch the races from home and I feel good.
"I rode at Misano last week on the training bike and it was pretty good.
"Maybe I’m missing a tiny bit of power because without riding the bike, it’s difficult to do all the right muscles.
"I’ve got really nice memories of my time in WorldSSP here at Magny-Cours. It’s a circuit where I managed to clinch the title.
"I’ve always enjoyed it in the past and I’m looking forward to getting started.
"The character of the track is that you have to be pretty precise, I won’t say like the British tracks, but maybe more in that direction.
"With five rounds to go, I’ve learnt a lot. It’s been a good summer for me to evaluate and improve in some areas.
"I’m still missing that last bit of riding the Superbike properly, I keep falling back into that Moto2 style a little bit so my goal is to ride the bike in a better way, brake better and fight near the front.”
Sam Lowes is currently 16th in his rookie WSBK season.
Alex Lowes: 'The Kawasaki is strong here'
Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK's Alex Lowes previewed his weekend at Magny-Cours: “I’m feeling quite good. We had a good weekend at Portimao, and this is a track I enjoy.
"I like the layout; I think it’s a nice track to ride and the Kawasaki is strong here. We need to do a lot of hard work on Friday.
"It’s so close in WorldSBK, every weekend you need to be feeling good from the first laps.
"The weather at Magny-Cours is always changing so I need to make sure I’m on top of the weather.
"It’s going to be a tough weekend with a lot of fast guys, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.
"I think we have some good tracks. I like Aragon and Jerez, Estoril’s a quirky little fun track. I will try to do my best every weekend.
"If I can be consistent, try to improve my speed a little bit, fight for podiums and try to win a race before the end of the year, then who knows? As long as I do my best every weekend, it’s all I can do.”