Alex Lowes enjoys MotoGP™ test ride

Alex Lowes enjoyed a 15 lap MotoGP™ test at the Automotodrom Brno during Monday’s test, registering a best time of 1‘59.558s. The Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team rider was given the chance to ride the YZR-M1 alongside Tech3’s Pol Espargaro, with whom he won the 2016 Suzuka 8-Hours Endurance Road Race event at the end of July.

Reacquainting himself quickly with the Czech circuit, having not ridden there since he was 17. Lowes made a 1.146s improvement in just 15 laps, although the test unfortunately ended a little prematurely when he suffered a front end crash at the end of the session.

Alex Lowes: “From when you‘re a kid you dream about an opportunity to ride a MotoGP bike and it was fantastic. Obviously I didn‘t do too many laps, but the feel of the bike was incredible. The power of the bike and the way that it turns was everything that I expected and even more than that, so it was an incredible experience. The brakes and the tyres are quite a lot different from a WorldSBK bike, but the biggest difference is the power. When I came from my first lap onto the straight I felt the engine‘s full power and it was amazing, I couldn‘t believe how fast it was, so I would say the biggest difference is the power. The crash was on my last couple of laps, nearly at the end of the day and obviously the reason was because I tried to push a bit too much without understanding everything. I broke a bit more and lifted the rear a bit, went a little wide and the track was a bit dirty and I lost the front. It was only a small crash but I‘m feeling really sorry for that. Honestly, it was a fantastic experience and I really enjoyed it, even if I did only 15 laps, they were the best 15 laps I ever had.”