Superbike, Phillip Island Round, Race2: Alex Lowes confirms himself among the leaders

The second race of the Yamaha Finance Australian Round at Phillip Island, the opening round of the production-derived world championship, saw Alex Lowes confirm the fourth place obtained in the first race, but this time the English rider has a lot to smile about given that the gap with the winner, Jonathan Rea on the official Kawasaki, it is only 9 tenths.

Michael van der Mark, making his debut on the YZF-R1, also managed to improve his performance on Saturday, finishing in seventh place but not far from the podium in terms of gap.

Lowes, by virtue of the new regulation on the grid in Race 2, which takes into account the results of the first heat, started from the first spot on the grid and battled with Rea, Davies and Melandri until a few laps from the end for the podium, eventually obtaining a fourth position which gives him 26 points in the standings and a nice boost of confidence for the rest of the championship.

“I felt I had a good chance to get on the podium, but when I attacked on the last lap I struggled more than I expected” – he commented alex lowes – “Halfway through the race I thought about how to conserve the bike and tyres, trying to maintain a pace around 1'31.7 in the final laps, so as to stay with the leading group. The bike was going very well but I simply wasn't fast enough in the second part of the track, I wasn't aggressive enough. This cost us a podium, so this is where I have to work. Other than that I felt really good and was competitive for 44 laps of the race. The guys have done a fantastic job improving the R1 in many areas, we can be satisfied, it's a good start to the year. I think I conducted the two races at my best, not only on the bike, but in the way I approached the weekend, both for myself and for how the team worked together. I think we've all done a much better job and have a good foundation to work from."

“It was easier to ride the bike than yesterday” – he began Michael van der Mark – “In the end I did a solo race, but I was happy because I was making consistent times and we improved our performance in the race. Today in the warm-up we tried something new, but I didn't seem to feel much of a difference, so when we made a change on the bike for the race, I didn't know what to expect. I made a good start, but in the first corner I got caught up a bit in the brawl. However, I immediately felt the bike was easier to ride and so we made a good improvement for this race, and at the start I stayed with the leading group. The duel with Eugene Laverty cost me some time and Sykes managed to overtake me. I think I've learned a lot about the bike and I know how I can improve in the race."