Alex Lowes put on a stand-out performance at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli this afternoon as he came out fighting despite his injury to avenge his race one frustrations on the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK YZF-R1. Challenging in the top five for the majority of the 21-laps and setting the fastest lap of the race, his strength ultimately gave out just a lap before the end as he crossed the line in eighth, one place ahead of teammate Niccolò Canepa.
A stunning start saw the British rider immediately challenge the front, grabbing second into the first corner before fighting for, and holding third for the opening laps – and setting the fastest lap of the race in the process with a 1’35.165. Briefly dropping to fifth he quickly regrouped, catching the rider in front, but an attempted pass for fourth on the sixth lap was blocked. The British rider continued to push on hard for the closing stages, his pace a second faster than the riders behind as he comfortably held his top-five position. However, his physical condition made it impossible to resist a challenge on the penultimate lap and the closely-packed group seized the advantage. Lowes took the chequered flag with a hard fought eighth place, concluding the weekend with 81 points and sitting tenth in the championship standings.
Forced to take avoiding action by a first lap crash, stand-in rider Canepa dropped back from a good start, recovering quickly from 22nd to 12th in two laps. With consistently better pace than the riders in front, the Italian struggled to find the perfect opportunity to make his move before finding the solution on lap 14 and entering the top ten. Continuing his advance he concluded his second home race with a solid ninth place – having regained 13 positions throughout the race – and 16 points from his debut weekend on the Pata Yamaha YZF-R1.
The Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team remains at the Misano Circuit for a further day as it participates in the official test organised by the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in preparation for round nine, at Laguna Seca in the United States, on 8th-10th July.
Alex Lowes
Race: 8th / +17.276 / 21 laps. Championship: 10th / 81 points
“Today was a much better race. The position was not great, obviously to lose three positions in the last lap and a half of the race was a shame, but I was struggling with my condition a bit at the end. However, there are many positives to take as I did a better job than yesterday, kept pushing, and the bike felt good. We finished eighth, and I am quite frustrated that I still can’t ride the YZF-R1 the way I want to for the whole race duration but I’m looking forward to getting fully fit and showing what the bike can do in the next couple of races!”
Niccolò Canepa
Race: 9th / +20.082 / 21 laps. Championship: 19th / 16 points
“I’m not very satisfied with the position in today’s race but I’m really happy about my performance across the weekend! My pace was very consistent and I didn’t make any mistakes. Unfortunately I was involved in Reiterberger’s crash in the opening lap and I dropped to 22nd position. I was able to finish ninth, so the pace was really good, but without the incident it could have been much better! I want to say thanks to the Pata Yamaha team for making this weekend possible.”
Paul Denning Team Principal
“The numbers themselves are not so exciting, but the whole team and both riders should be happy with today’s race, considering the challenges faced. Alex is clearly far from fit and the recuperation from the injury and subsequent operation is taking its normal course, we can’t expect miracles! However, compared to yesterday he was able to manage much better, set the fastest lap of the race and hold a very good rhythm to the end despite the lack of strength. This cost him some places, but when you have nothing left to fight with there is nothing more we can expect. The YZF-R1 and a fit Alex Lowes clearly had the potential to fight for the podium today, and this is the positive point we must build upon.
“It has been a pleasure to have Niccolò with us this weekend, and what a great job he has done! Despite bad luck in qualifying and on lap one today, he really rode well and moved forward strongly, with a pace towards the end that was fully competitive with the top riders. Nick’s technical understanding is excellent, this is also a big help, and we are looking forward to his further development assistance in the test tomorrow.
“Finally, many congratulations to Lucas Mahias and his team, achieving the first win for “Pata Yamaha” in the STK1000 Championship today – chapeau, monsieur!”
