Alex Lowes says he is expecting a much sterner test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya ahead of Round 2 for the 2024 WorldSBK Championship following his race-winning start to this year’s campaign.

The Englishman emerged as the overwhelming star of the opening round at Phillip Island after scoring two victories from the three races - his first since 2020 and only the third and fourth of his WorldSBK career.

While Lowes has a particularly good record of results in Australia, Round 2 in Catalunya - around a circuit that has previously been used later in the season when temperatures are higher - represents a different test with its tendency for high-degradation from a low grip surface.

Even so, the venue doubles up as his Kawasaki Racing Team’s home round with the Provec Racing outfit based in nearby Granollers, while Lowes achieved a set of decent results in 2023 with a pair of top five results on the Kawasaki ZX-10RR.

“We got a lot of information from the recent test to use over race weekend. I feel good but we have work to do to look after the tyres for the long races. In Australia, with the new surface, the track was really grippy. 

“Catalunya is one of the least grippy tracks. So it was important to have tested here to get a feel for the things that we have tried in the winter tests. 

“The setting in the electronics, if not the software itself, is a lot different to last year and I am happier now knowing that that works. 

“We are definitely better prepared after the test. I like the track and the layout at Catalunya. 

“There is not a lot of grip but there are a lot of long corners where you can slide the bike quite easily. You can always enjoy riding the bike here.”