Warm and dry weather conditions were in place for the start of the first 20-lap WorldSBK race of the official KRT squad’s home weekend in Barcelona.
Before Race One got underway Superpole Qualifying took place at 11am local time. An amazingly fast and close competition for grid spots saw Lowes finish seventh and Bassani 15th. Lowes was one of ten riders who lapped under the previous track best in Superpole.
As expected the eventual race result for most riders proved to be heavily dependent on tyre performance over the final few laps. Lowes was able to keep a stable final pace and even regain a position right at the end, taking away ten championship points for his sixth place ride.
Alex had also been in sixth place in the early part of the race but was passed by two competitors at half race distance. He was able to make back places in the final laps after a solid performance throughout.
Despite his 15th place launch from the starting grid after Superpole Qualifying Axel set a consistent pace and moved up several places by the end of the 20-lap contest. His pace on the final lap was comparable with the podium riders as he moved up to join the final top ten on lap 16 of 20.
A 10-lap Superpole Race and then a full distance 20-lap Race Two will complete the Catalunya round on Sunday 24 March.
Alex Lowes, stated: “It was a solid day for us. We knew from our experiences at the recent test and during Free Practice on Friday that we are struggling a bit here. Low grip and long corners seem to be difficult for us. But we did a solid job and we managed the grip that we had well. Our pace was OK and I’m sure we can improve a bit for tomorrow. In general, we will take a top six today and see what we can do tomorrow. It would be nice to be closer to the podium fight at the team’s home race.”
Axel Bassani, stated: “It has been a difficult race today because we had to manage things through the race and never pushed. It was important to arrive in good condition at the end of the race. It is not so much fun to do a race like that but at this moment we are at that point. Now we have to try to improve, especially in the first part of the race. Tomorrow we will see if we are able to finish inside the top ten in the Superpole Race to help us have a good Race Two.”
Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) placed a creditable 17th in Superpole and then went on to finish 21st in Race One.
2024 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics
Alex Lowes:
2024: Races: 4, Wins 2, Podiums 2, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 4 (3 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 36 (16 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 1 (0 for Kawasaki)
Axel Bassani:
2024: Races: 4, 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: 544 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Poles: 108 – second overall
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