Lowes out to ‘repay’ Tech 3 in Aragon

Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s stand-in Alex Lowes is looking to ‘repay’ the French team for granting him an opportunity to race in MotoGP with a strong weekend at MotorLand Aragon.

The British rider has been filling in for Bradley Smith, who suffered a nasty leg injury in a crash during practice for the Oschersleben 8-Hour endurance race last month.

Lowes has thus far enjoyed a strong premier class debut, taking points in his first event at Silverstone three weeks ago and following that up with a respectable 14th in qualifying in San Marino, though unfortunately crashed out of the race.

Despite being plunged into MotoGP at the deep-end, Lowes has said that he has enjoyed the experience hugely and feels that he has learnt an awful lot in such a short period. The Briton reckons that his time on the YZR-M1 and the knowledge gained riding it will surely aid him in the World Superbike Championship on his YZF-R1.

Aragon is a track, like the last two, that is familiar to Lowes from WorldSBK. The British rider guided his Pata Yamaha R1 to third on the grid this season and took top 10 finishes in both races. Lowes’ aim for this weekend remain that same as at Silverstone and Misano, which is to gather as much information on the bike as possible and generally enjoy the experience.

“I’m delighted to be able to have another outing on the Yamaha YZR-M1 with Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team and I truly aim to repay the team with a strong performance on Sunday,” Lowes said.

“It’s incredible how much I’ve learnt with this opportunity over the last two races and I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I feel that, step-by-step, it makes me a more complete rider, and the knowledge I have gained on the M1 will surely continue to help me in my day job in the World Superbike Championship.

“Fortunately, Aragon is another circuit I know, even if we only used the MotoGP track layout for the first time this season in World Superbikes, but I’m sure it will feel different to ride on the YZR-M1, especially the last corner. In any case, the goal this weekend remains the same because, in the previous two GPs, I just wanted to gain as much information as possible. After racing in German this weekend, it will certainly take me a few laps to re-adapt to the Yamaha YZR-M1, yet I can’t wait to get FP1 underway and ride the fantastic bike on the Spanish circuit.”

Lowes comes into the Aragon Grand Prix fresh from a difficult weekend at the Lauistzring round of WorldSBK. The Pata Yamaha rider crashed heavily in FP3 and was forced to watch Superpole from his garage, though managed a respectable eighth in race one. He crashed out of the second race in tricky conditions whilst running inside the top 10.