Lowes lacks speed, ‘can’t beat Ducati’

2023.01.30 | |
Gordon Richie | |
World SBK

Kawasaki Racing’s Alex Lowes heads to Portimao for the second WorldSBK test on Tuesday.

Loews had hitherto had a false sense of safety in winter testing, finding he could set strong lap times in cold conditions, but lost his pace when the season started on warm tracks during the actual race season. It was only But he was still happy with his work done last week in Jerez.

“It went pretty well, but in winter testing the track was cold and grippy and with the soft tyres, everything felt great,” explained Lowes after running in Spain. “I did a long run with the hardest front and the hardest rear to steal grip. After 16 laps I still felt like I had plenty of grip. Even at the start of those laps I was 1′. 39 seconds it’s unrealistic with a hard front and SC0 rear we shouldn’t be doing those lap times it’s hard to test in these conditions but new parts in a row Obviously we can test it, but I didn’t push too much to go fast and it was pretty stable, so I was very happy.”

The next test at Portimao from 31 January to 1 February will help Lowes and his team make final preparations for the start of the 2023 season. ‘ he continued. “We didn’t improve much in speed, and we didn’t improve much in some areas where we need to try to improve, namely corners and speed. as [Rea] Last year I had to be in a position to pass when the grip dropped towards the end of the race. On our bike it looks a little lacking in this area. This is still my focus. The tests were good, but I still have a similar problem. ”

Bautista’s and Ducati’s pace was a problem for everyone who would be champions last year, and with an improved Ducati this year, Lowes said of the Bologna threat. So Johnny is the fastest every year and has crazy lap times,” said the 32-year-old. “So considering this, I’m a little worried because it was easy for Bautista to put out his 1’38. 1’39. I’m sure he’ll be fine.

“If you look at all Ducatis and Petrucci in general, I think it was his first time on a bike. This was my first time wearing Trim, he’s also fast, they’ll be hard to beat.

“Obviously Alvaro has the confidence to be world champion and he is riding great so this helps a lot. But they have taken a big step forward. It was fast in , but you’re pushing hard and riding how extreme he is on the brakes, so it’s more likely you’ll get the same speed in those conditions, but when it’s hot this gap is I’m a little worried about that, but we can’t focus on them, we need to focus on ourselves, we have some new members on the team, Johnny and I are working together well and this is how we need to keep working to improve the package.”

Due to the low track temperature, the tire grip was good in some ways, but a little lacking in others. Especially on the final tight left after many right corners. “Of course it’s always pretty cold in January, but it felt like the last day in Jerez without much sun… this year it’s a bit extreme,” recalled the Briton. It’s pretty low.There’s plenty of grip so it’s a fine line, but if the tires are even a little cold it’s a disaster.Yeah this was hard to balance.Especially on the Kawasaki we test at 30-40 degrees Celsius I hope it’s a little warmer in Portimao, but this was a good test for me, I tested a lot but I was still pretty fast.”

Going into the season as a whole, Lowes said of his approach: Physically, I feel good. We had plans to test his new SCQ tires from Pirelli, like today, but we didn’t do it. It was a little cold in this test and I couldn’t put myself in a position to make a mistake so I’m going to save it for Portugal. We have to challenge those who are in the lead. ”