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22 Settembre 2024

Lowes Second In The Superpole Race At Cremona

Alex Lowes had two strong finishes in the Sunday races at the new WorldSBK venue of Cremona, thanks to a second place in the Superpole Race and a fifth place in Race Two. Axel Bassani found little fortune at his home round on Sunday and finished up 11th in the morning race and a non-finisher in Race Two.

After a his fall on Saturday Lowes had a redemptive second place result in the ten lap Tissot Superpole Race on Sunday morning. He was ranked third early on and was pushed to fourth for a time as riders with stickier SCQ tyre choices than Lowes’ SCX-A development race tyre found strong early pace.

As Lowes’ tyre choice proved to be the better one over all ten laps he then re-passed Nicolo Bulega and finally long-time second place rider Andrea Iannone to take a strong runner-up spot, and his 11th podium of the season. This was Alex’s 25th podium visit since he joined Kawasaki and the 45th of his WorldSBK career.

Bassani, starting in 12th place after Superpole qualifying on Saturday, finished one place higher after ten intense ‘sprint’ race laps, inside a group of eight riders competing as one loose rolling group.

In Race Two, held over the scheduled 23 laps, the weather was finally bright and warm, allowing the riders to choose between two versions of the SCX tyre. Lowes opted for the SCX-A development tyre and would finish the race in fifth position.

Alex chased the podium finishers throughout and having held fourth position for much of the race he only relinquished it unwillingly on the final two laps. 

Bassani had an early Race Two contact with another rider and despite getting back into the action at high pace, he was to fall on lap two. He headed back into pitlane and subsequently retired.

After a dramatic first weekend in Cremona Lowes is still fourth overall in the title fight, with 255 points. Axel is now 15th with 80 points.

There is now a very quick turnaround for all inside the KRT squad as the next round takes place at Motorland Aragon, in Spain, between 27-29 September.

Alex Lowes, stated: “Obviously my rear tyre choice helped me in the Superpole Race when those other guys lost grip and I was there to pick up the pieces. The SCQ tyre would have been tough to manage over ten laps, so we made the right choice with the SCX-A. I just needed the riders in front to slow down a little bit so I could have a chance. With my character and my riding style it was still not an easy race. At the start they were faster so I just needed to be patient - and that’s not one of my strong points. Yesterday I was digging-in halfway through the race, trying to stay in the ‘victory fight’ rather than accept a podium. So this podium was a great way to bounce back. I felt like I did the best I could in Race Two. When the track temperature gets hot I cannot use the corner speed that I need to make up for the time we lose in the straight. It is not an excuse, it is the reality of what it is. We did a good job with the bike. It felt better than yesterday and I was able to be really consistent to the end. I tried to hold Garrett off and I set a good lap time at the end. He just had a bit more pace than me. The team deserved the podium in the Superpole race and I think we did the best we could in Race Two.”

Axel Bassani, stated: “It has been a difficult Sunday for me. In the Superpole Race we tried to recover some positions but it was not possible because the pace was really fast for everyone. I tried to overtake some riders but I finished towards the back. In Race Two the start was not good because I touched with another rider and lost a lot of positions. But, after one lap I recovered four positions. The speed was there but on the second lap I crashed at T7. I am sorry for the team because we would have been able to make a good race and result. But this is racing. I hope next round to do a better job and for sure the team is working hard. I have to say thank you to them and we will continue our work.”

Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) took his KRT supplied Ninja ZX-10RR to tenth place in the Superpole Race and then went on to repeat that top ten result in Race Two. He is ranked 20th in the championship with 16 points.

2024 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics

Alex Lowes:
2024: Races: 27, Wins 2, Podiums 11, Superpoles 1
Career Race Wins: 4 (3 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 45 (25 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 2 (1 for Kawasaki)

Axel Bassani:
2024: Races: 27, Wins 0, Podiums 0, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 0 (0 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 6 (0 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 0 (0 for Kawasaki)

8 x Riders’ Championships (Scott Russell 1993, Tom Sykes 2013, Jonathan Rea 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020), 1 x EVO Riders’ Championship (David Salom 2014)
6 x Manufacturers’ Championships (Ninja ZX-10R 2015 & 2016, Ninja ZX-10RR 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020)
5 x Teams’ Championships (KRT/Provec Racing 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019)

Kawasaki FIM Superbike World Championship Statistics
Total Kawasaki Race Wins: 180 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Podiums: 553 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Poles: 109 – second overall

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