Britain’s Alex Lowes raised more eyebrows in MotoGP free practice three today at Silverstone when he finished in 16th place overall but really got people talking when his wet pace saw him lead qualifying one in only his second wet session on the Monster Yamaha.
Lowes rode Bradley Smith’s satellite M1 in the rain for the first time in FP4 and ended ahead of team-mate Pol Espargaro in 12th place but then, in qualifying one, the Derby-based rider lit up the screens with his opening forayof laps before settling into 16th place on the grid but less than a second behind Espargaro, who is being used as the weekend benchmark.
“I am pleased. It was hard going into FP4 and then Q1 as it was the first time I had ridden the bike in the wet. In qualifying, I was thinking too much about how I felt on the bike, and I was going to change something as I had 15 minutes and after the session I didn’t think I had done as well as I could have,” said Lowes, speaking at the track.
“But to be honest, to be that close given it was my first time was a good effort. I really enjoyed it but tomorrow will be difficult again as we didn’t get a lot of laps in FP4 in case it is dry, so we will have to manage the race and the bike but we made a good step.
“We will just need to improve the bike in the conditions, that is the best way to look at it, I just need to keep improving. This track is difficult in the wet as it is not the same surface all the way round but the tyres are good. I didn’t do enough laps to really understand a lot.
“The electronics are great as is the power delivery. My biggest thing is my style as I am quite aggressive, you have to be slugging a British Superbike around Oulton Park. With the MotoGP, every time you move it affects the bike so I am trying to move less.”
