Voltcom Suzuki’s Alex Lowes admitted he ‘struggled’ during the course of this weekend’s World Superbike races at Aragon. But the rookie did clinch a debut top ten finish in race one at the Spanish circuit.
But Lowes did continue his progression on the world stage with a debut top ten at the track. A steady start allowed him to circulate in eighth for the opening half of the race, before being taken by a battling group, demoting him to eleventh. The British rider held his own for the closing stages, taking the dwindling Aprilia of Marco Melandri on the penultimate lap to finish tenth.
A high-side at turn 13 on the second lap of the afternoon’s race denied the rookie a chance to progress his world championship education aboard the GSX-R1000, but Lowes remains confident that he will come back fighting as the next round restores him to more familiar soil.
“I have struggled with the bike and the track all weekend. The first eight laps of the morning race I felt pretty good but then the tyre dropped off quite a lot so I just made sure I finished. We made some improvements to the bike in the break and I actually felt better in the first lap of the second race, until the crash, and the rest is history,” said Lowes.
“I scored three points in my first race, I scored five here so at least I’m getting better! We go to a track that I know next, which is really good for me. Obviously it’s going to be easier for me to improve when I know the track and hopefully it will be easier to get the bike set up as well, so I’m looking forward to it.”
