WSS: Top wild-card Lowes hits highs at Silverstone
Sam Lowes cemented his status as the British Supersport Championship favourite by coming away with a hard fought top ten finish on his wild-card appearance at Silverstone.
The 19-year-old started from 17th on the grid on his GNS Racing Honda but battled back through the pack superbly to pick up six points and finish as the top wildcard on the day in the series, ahead of BSS compatriots James Westmoreland and Billy McConnell.
A strong finish to a weekend that had started off badly with an accident that destroyed his bike, Lowes was pleased with the eventual result.
"I am happy after the race," he said. "It wasn't too bad, but it was hard work. It was a difficult weekend so to get that result today was good. My lap times were mega in the race. After Friday when I had a crash and destroyed the bike, I had a few issues but it was okay in the end. I was aching a little after my accident but that wasn't an excuse. It's not affected my riding so I'm not going to say that. I
"t was quite a big crash but the main thing was the damage to the bike. That was in my mind all weekend then, so I knew I couldn't risk doing it again. It's so different racing in the World Supersport, the tyres are different, the riders are different but it was enjoyable. I picked up points so I was pleased with that.
"The bike set-up made a big difference, we changed a lot after the warm up. Unfortunately the bike broke during the session, so I didn't get a chance to try it before the race. I just needed more track time over the weekend to maximise my potential.
"I was chuffed to be ahead of my two championship contenders from the British Supersport series. They came past me on the first lap and I thought, no way am I having that, I'm not being beaten by them! The aim for the weekend was to get a good set-up when we came here, because it's a new track. We have done a mega job of that.
Describing the differences between the British and World series', Lowes admits he had started the event on the 'back foot'.
"The tyres are different of course but now we've got these tyres working on my bike, once we get the tyres we are used to racing with, we will be spot on," he added. "It will feel like a dream to ride in September when we come here in the British series! It's not necessarily that the tyres are better in England but they are just different to what we normally use. Everyone else in the World Supersport Championship has had all season to get used to riding them, so I was on the back foot a little."
by Leandra Graves
