Britain’s Alex Lowes goes into next weekend’s Phillip Island World Superbike opener still not fully fit but says he will take it steady during next weeks’s test and then re-evauate his goals if the new Pata Yamaha works well enough for him to challenge for wins early doors.
The Derby-based youngster has silverware on his mind and says like any good racer, the first person he must beat is team-mate Sylvain Guintoli.
“I need to be winning races. If the bike is good enough to do that, then I need to be doing that. We don’t really know the level of the bike. Compared to other series the bike has won in, the level of competition in World Superbikes is a lot higher and regulations are different, in terms of machinery,” said Lowes, speaking to Bikesport News.
“My arm is not perfect. It’s not as good as I would like it to be and it’s healing more slowly than I would like. I wanted a bit more rapid progress but after riding at the test I saw some big improvements in terms of endurance but I still have some time.
“I think we might be behind a little on top speed but we should be competitive. There are so many positive things about that bike. My goal is to be up there every weekend and be at the front as much as possible. Obviously, I want to get the first win and when that comes, it changes the aspirations. If you win early on, then the goals change.
“A very good target is to be beating Sylvain (Guintoli, team-mate) every week. He is always there, consistent and you know he is going to finish. I know I am faster than him and I might have to be patient early on while my shoulder heals but definitely by the third round we should be good.”
Get our massive World Superbike season preview, free to download with the Bikesport News app in your app store