Alex Lowes counts on “experience” after WorldSBK preseason leaves teams “not ready”

“Experience” will be a key attribute for Alex Lowes in the 2026 WorldSBK season, he thinks, after a preseason disrupted by weather.

Having joined World Superbike as reigning BSB Champion in 2014, Lowes now has 12 seasons at the top level of the production derivative series under his belt. 

After the retirement from full-time racing of Jonathan Rea at the end of last year, there’s not a single rider with more experience in WorldSBK on the 2026 grid, and the 35-year-old is hoping that this experience will serve him well after both European tests were heavily disrupted by rain in January leaving teams and riders with very little dry running before the final preseason test in Australia on 16–17 February.

“I guess I feel pretty much like everyone: not really ready,” Alex Lowes told WorldSBK.com at the Bimota team launch.

“But the reality is I’ve got enough experience now to know that everybody feels the same.

“Not a lot of track time, so everybody is going to be thinking ‘Hopefully it’s dry in the Phillip Island test so we can get some laps’. Everybody more or less is in the same situation. 

“The laps we did do I felt good on the bike, and the tests at the end of [2025] was good. So, overall, it is what it is and I think we’ll be okay.”

Adding to the uncertainty ahead of the 2026 World Superbike season is the number of rider moves and new bikes on the grid this year. 

Bimota, of course, is developing the KB998 still into only the bike’s second year in the championship, but Ducati has an updated Panigale V4 R as well as a new rider in Iker Lecuona; champion of the last two seasons Toprak Razgatlioglu is gone; BMW has two new riders on its factory team; Kawasaki has an updated ZX-10RR; there are two new rookies at Honda; and two of Yamaha’s four official bikes have new riders this year as well.

For Lowes, it means that Bimota has to focus on executing its own races in the best way possible and not relativise its performance or expectations based on the performance of others.

“Other guys have new projects, new bikes,” Lowes said. “We don’t know the level of their competitiveness, but what we can do is control ourselves, make sure we’re a little bit better than we were last year, I make sure I’m a bit better than I was last year, fewer mistakes. 

“We do our best, and the result will be what it will be but this is our target.”

The British rider hopes that the result of strong execution in 2026 will be a top-three finish in the championship, something he was close to in the ZX-10RR’s last season with the Provec-run team in 2024, and perhaps even a first win for the KB998.

“First win on the Bimota would be fantastic, top-three in the championship would be nice,” Lowes said. 

“But in general my target is to have a good attitude, keep trying to have a good attitude; work hard on the bike; ride as best I can. 

“If I can finish top-three in the world and make this year the best year of my career that’s what I’ll try and do. I’m excited to see if we can do it.”