Sam Lowes pinpoints key error amid milestone at Assen

A maiden WorldSBK pole position and podium meant the Dutch WorldSBK was a breakout weekend for Sam Lowes.

The Marc VDS Ducati rider, now in his second season in World Superbike, took pole position with a record lap on Saturday morning, before being taken out by Alvaro Bautista in Race 1 – for which the Spanish rider accepted the blame.

Sunday was again positive for Lowes, who was on the podium in the wet Superpole Race despite dropping back at the start.

Sam Lowes identifies mistake in WorldSBK Race 2 at Assen

“It was true [on Sunday morning] with a wet Warm Up and a wet start to the Superpole Race,” Lowes told WorldSBK.com after Race 2 in Assen.

“Starting from pole position I was quite cautious to get a good start – in the rain it’s easier if you can have a clear track [because of] the spray and everything. So I sort of focused on the start and missed my braking point for turn one and locked the front a bit, so I went a little bit off the track and dropped back to seventh or eighth.

“Then, it was an enjoyable race, coming through and overtaking the guys that I was around, [and] I managed to get my first podium in Superbike. It was a relief, it was nice, because yesterday’s pole position and running good in the race – it was a nice step for me and the team.”

Lowes finished fourth in Race 2, running in the front group for the first half of the race but dropping out of podium contention as the race drew on the pack was stretched out by Nicolo Bulega, who got to the front from 10th on the grid but ultimately retired.

The British rider said that he wasn’t expecting a repeat of his podium performance from the wet Superpole Race in the dry Race 2, especially having missed the second half of Race 1 when he crashed out with Alvaro Bautista.

“I knew maybe in the longer race I was missing a little bit to fight for the podium, but we were aiming for a top-five,” he said.

“I’m sorry for Bulega, obviously, because he broke down, so it would’ve been a fifth place for us but we managed to get a fourth, top-Independent – it was a positive day.

“We went for the hard [compound] front tyre in the longer race – I don’t think it was bad but I was missing a bit of speed, a little bit of turning, and I thought at the end I could maybe come forward at the end because of the tyre but in the end it was sort of similar.

“I’m not saying it was the wrong choice but if I did the race again I’d try the softer one, but because I didn’t do the end of the race [on Saturday] it was a bit of a gamble.”

In summary of what was a weekend of firsts for him, Lowes said: “A [much] better weekend, all sessions we were quite strong, good rhythm, good work, and I had a lot of fun.”