Co-operation rather than competition was the word for Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes as two days of Suzuka testing completed in Japan.

Gearing up for August’s historic eight-hour battle - a race in which Lowes has already claimed success with Yamaha - the Lincolnshire rider joined his WorldSBK teammate Jonathan Rea and a raft of KRT and KMC personnel for the final test. Both dry, wet, and night conditions were thrown at the pair as they re-familiarised themselves with the 5.8km layout.

“It has been great to be here in Japan,” Lowes said after two days on track. “My first time in green at the Suzuka 8 Hours! We had a good couple of days work with our preparations for this year’s race.

“It’s nice to work with Jonathan, as normally I am racing against him. So to work together to try and improve the bike set-up has been really good, as has the atmosphere in the team.

“I am looking forward to coming back for the race. I felt better on the bike every lap that we did. Adjusting from WorldSBK obviously takes a little bit of time, and this race is a little bit different but overall, it was a really positive test. I am really excited to be joining Johnny and Leon next month for the 2022 Suzuka Eight-Hours.”