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Seventh For Lowes The Sunday Highpoint At Balaton
BbKRT rider Alex Lowes secured a seventh-place finish in the WorldSBK Superpole Race at Balaton Park, and that proved to be the best single bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team result on the final day of the fourth round.
The race weekend in Hungary was blessed with warm and dry weather from the first practice session to the final two races on Sunday, May 3.
bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team pairing of Lowes and Axel Bassani found little in the way of good fortune on the final day, however, at the unique 4.075km-long Balaton Park Circuit.
The planned 10-lap Superpole Race was shortened to only eight after an opening lap multiple rider collision into the T6/7 area. In the restart, Lowes would take a positive seventh place in the intense short race, and Bassani would end up 15th.
Soon after Race 2 had started, Lowes was in a battle within the group chasing the leading riders. While riding in fourth place, he was pushed wide and lost several positions. He was moving forward from then on, but while chasing another competitor in the T9/10 chicane, he touched his rival on the exit of the second apex, crashed out, and was unable to restart.
Bassani experienced an early technical issue with some aspect of his braking system in Race Two and had to retire.
After four rounds and 12 races, Lowes is fifth overall in the championship points table, and Bassani is now ninth. Alex has 82 points and Bassani 67. bimota remains second in the Manufacturers’ Standings and BbKRT is now third in the Teams’ Standings.
The fifth round of the 2026 WorldSBK Championship will take place at the Autodrom Most, in the Czech Republic, from May 15-17.
“Not the Race 2 that we wanted. This track is a bit special. It is not easy to pass and you need a good track position. I was really happy with the Superpole Race. We did a good job and even set our best lap of the weekend. In the final race, I made a good start and had a really good T1 and T2, in fourth place. This was the main job done, as it helps you with track position. Then, Baldassarri hit me and that put me out, so I lost five or six positions. We had made a change on the front of the bike, and I could see a few other riders going off the track, while I was stopping the bike quite well. I was just following Taz Mackenzie through the chicane at T9 and T10, and I think I misjudged his speed in the second apex. I was thinking of passing him in T10, but it completely caught me off guard. I hit the back of him with my hand and lost the front. That is hard to accept because I think we had a really positive weekend. I was maximizing the pace we had, making good starts, and I was getting myself in good positions. I think with the progress we made from Friday to Saturday to Sunday, it’s a shame to end this weekend with this race. Overall, I think how we did as a team was really good.”
- Alex Lowes
"It was quite a difficult Sunday for us. It started well in FP3, when I had a good pace. Also in the Superpole Race, my pace was really good, but it was nearly impossible for me to overtake the riders in front of me. When I had the possibility to be free, I was immediately in the 1:39.6 lap times. We know it is difficult for us to overtake, and we finished P15. In Race 2, from the warm-up lap, I had some issues with the front brake, a lot of vibration. I tried to do the first lap of the race, but it was also locking on the straight. It was dangerous for me and the other riders, so I decided to stop. This was really impossible to ride. We will try to recover this week and try to be more ready for the next round in Most.”
- Alex Bassani
