WorldSBK Phillip Island: Podium but ‘opportunity missed’ for Lowes

WorldSBK’s‘Big Three’ riders have kept many a good man off the podium in 2022, but this time around in race one at Phillip Island Alex Lowes (KRT) took a fully deserved rostrum.

With the continuation of the rains that were around at the start of race one, or a better-timed pitstop, maybe more than a distant third place behind Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu would have been his reward. Lowes was happy to be a podium sitter, and said “A strange race, but to be honest I felt like I was one of the faster riders in the wet and the dry. Maybe made the wrong choice with the pit stop, but I was fast in the wet and fast in the dry. I’m happy to be on the podium.

“I just want to be battling at the front and showing my speed. I know I can be fast. I enjoyed the race. It’s always a strange race when you have a pit stop in the middle, but it was a bit different. Tomorrow looks like it’s probably going to be wet or definitely a lot colder, so it’s going to be different again. But I feel like I can do a good job, so sleep well tonight and try to finish the year strong tomorrow.

When asked who calls the shots in the pitstops, Lowes had a short think about it, then said, “In the end, I’m on the bike. I can come in when I want. We had a bit of a plan before the race, that they were going to decide with more information, but they didn’t so I had to decide myself, and maybe I was too late.

“I was thinking, ‘I’ll just pit as soon as I see the first person pit. But, then when I was in front, I didn’t know when to pit. I wanted to use the wet tyre as much as possible, because I knew it was hard as possible but it still felt okay.

“So, I maybe just missed the window a little bit. So easy to sit here now and say, ‘I should have done this or