Lowes: “I made a small mistake”

Alex Lowes suffered bad luck at the Gran Premio TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini as he crashed out on the seventh lap whilst fighting for a point scoring result.

The British rider, who is standing in for the injured Bradley Smith, got away from 14th on the grid and leapt forward when the lights went out before concluding the opening lap in 17th. He set into a consistent rhythm as he aimed to move up and seize another strong finish.

Yet, he unfortunately lost the front of his bike at the first corner, with a quarter of the distance having been completed, whilst running in 16th. The outcome marked a disappointing close to the weekend for the 25-year-old, who otherwise produced a solid display in only his second MotoGP™ appearance aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1.

Lowes will compete at the 10th round of the WorldSBK championship in Germany this weekend, and will then join the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team once again in Aragon for his final outing due to Smith’s continued recovery process.

Alex Lowes: “After what has been a positive weekend, I am obviously disappointed with the outcome. To be honest, I didn’t really get the chance to get into the race, and sadly I made a small mistake and lost the front at turn one. For sure, this is a big shame because I’ve completed quite a few longer runs in the practice sessions and overall, my pace has been good and I have constantly improved my times. The whole weekend, apart from the race, has been encouraging and I got a better understanding of the YZR-M1 with every lap. I’ve enjoyed this event but it’s never nice to end with a negative result in the GP, especially as I am getting more competitive on the Yamaha.

“I have to say again that this experience has been fantastic and I have been able to enjoy the time because there is no pressure with regards to the championship standings. I wish that I was able to repay the team’s efforts with a good finish today, but we made a good step up from Silverstone. Yet, I am super happy to announce that I will be riding for Monster Yamaha Tech3 again in Aragon and I am thankful to have another opportunity. Yet, first of all, I have to concentrate now on my own championship targets in WSBK with next week’s race in Lausitzring and I am very confident that the experience gained in MotoGP will enable me to fight for the podium.”