In the WorldSBK Superpole Race, Alex Lowes proved unstoppable, as he won his second straight race after passing Alvaro Bautista on the final lap.
Following his double, Lowes remarked, “It was an amazing day! From the beginning, the second race was a complete pandemonium. There was a slight delay, and Toprak’s bike burst during the first lap of the competition.
“I did well to stay on course, even though I was almost off.” Then, Jonathan experienced a significant crash; hopefully, he is doing well. I was easing off a little bit, but I still had a few strong sectors left to come back at my brother right before the red flag appeared.
The temperature had dropped a little, and I was moving very quickly. Making a strong start and positioning myself in the top three or four spots was my main goal during the restart.
“Toprak is always going to have a pass, so you have to ride a little more defensively when he’s not there, as I knew.”
“I was finding it difficult to stick with Michael and Bautista once I got used to the race.”
With a few laps remaining, Lowes started to put pressure on Bautista, continuing his good performance from the Superpole Race.
Andrea Locatelli appeared to be faster than the other two competitors, and she put pressure on Lowes.
However, Lowes made a bold move at turn nine to charge past Bautista after Locatelli made a mistake that caused him to high-side out of contention.
Lowes continued, “Locatelli passed me at Turn 4,” in reference to the final stages. He was going to hit Bautista in the back, but he moved wide, and I was able to stay in contact with him and stay close to
“Alvaro, as I imagined he was having trouble getting into the corner due to his grip failing. I was confident in my ability to accelerate through Turn 8 and into Turn 9.
“I had the opportunity to overtake him and attempt to halt the bike going into Turns 10 and 11. I made a small idea, and it worked out very nicely.
“I was able to pass because, in the end, I had a lot more grip than Alvaro.”