Alex Lowes rues missed victory shot as crash, tech gremlins scupper WorldSBK bid

Alex Lowes couldn’t hide his disappointment after seeing two potential victories go by the wayside during an otherwise competitive WorldSBK weekend at Magny-Cours.

The Briton, who has stepped into Jonathan Rea’s boots as Kawasaki Racing Team leader with aplomb in the Ulsterman’s absence this year, appeared on course for his first win since the season opener in Race 1 prior to him slipping off in treacherous conditions while leading.

Though he’d bounce back with a run to second in the Superpole Race on the tail of winner Nicolo Bulega, Lowes’ hopes of success in the full-length Race 2 encounter were dashed on the first lap when he encountered technical issues.

Despite this, Lowes managed to get his ZX-10RR working properly again after resetting it, with the four-time WorldSBK race winner charging back up to fourth at the flag.

Even so, Lowes admits to being disappointed not to get back to the top of the podium, particularly after Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista were forced to withdraw through injury.

“If I take all the expectation out of it, the race was great because I enjoyed it, passed a lot of guys. In the last couple of laps, I used up a lot of tyre trying to turn the bike more to pass some of the other riders. It shows how good the Kawasaki’s working at the minute to be able to pass so many guys.

“I feel like I’m able to ride the bike on the limit and really put the bike where I want. The general disappointment is I had the chance to win, and we probably had the speed to win; not taking anything away from Nicolo because we weren’t there so we don’t know, but certainly we had the chance to fight for the podium and fight for victory.

“We need to look as a team, analyse why we didn’t do that but also be positive that we’re fast enough to have the opportunity to do it.

“Overall, it’s been positive. A second and fourth place on Sunday, it felt like we maybe could’ve done a bit more but the speed’s there, confidence is there, and we have a few rounds coming up in quick succession.”

Despite missing out on victory, Lowes has now closed to within seven points of overhauling defending champion Bautista in the fight for third in the overall standings.