---
title: "Lowes just misses podium in race one"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2017/02/25/lowes-just-misses-podium-race-one/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Lewis Duncan"
section: "SBK"
published: "2017-02-25T12:44:56Z"
modified: "2017-02-25T12:45:19Z"
---

# Lowes just misses podium in race one

Alex Lowes narrowly missed out on his first podium for Yamaha in today’s race after crossing the line just 0.032s behind Kawasaki’s third-placed Tom Sykes.

The British rider had focused his efforts on long runs during pre-season testing, so came into the opening race of the year with a good understanding of how his YZF-R1 would behave across the 22 laps.

![Robert Cianflone/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/02/645126156.jpg)

Qualifying a decent half a second from pole in fifth, Lowes was able to breakaway with the lead group from the start and challenge hard for the podium, making some brave manoeuvres to eventually take the lead 11 laps in.

“I felt quite comfortable today and the race simulations that I have done allowed me to relax a bit more in the race itself,” Lowes said.

“I had been on a decent pace in the race runs and knew what to expect from the tyres and the bike. I managed to keep my speed to the end and I was a bit surprised that they were messing around a bit at the front!

“At one stage there were too many guys in the front group and everyone was a bit close – I did not feel very comfortable with that so I tried to push on a bit and stretch it out. It worked out quite well for me.”

Lowes’ time at the front was short-lived, however, and by lap 14  he had been reeled in by the two Kawasakis and the Ducati of Chaz Davies. A mistake in the closing laps saw the Briton drop away from the podium positions, though he was able to reel Sykes back in by the final lap.

![Robert Cianflone/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/02/644719812.jpg)

Prior to the race, Lowes was simply looking for a top five result in both races and did not expect to be fighting for the victory for almost the entirety of today’s first race. So he still sees fourth as a strong result.

Lowes will start tomorrow’s race from pole position as WorldSBK rolls out its radical reversed grid format for the first time. And with today’s top three having to fight their way through from the third row, race two offers up a golden opportunity for the Yamaha rider.

“Unfortunately I made a bit of a mistake near the end and it dropped me back from the first three,” he added.

“I was able to pull them back in the last three laps, but fourth place is still good. It is easy after the race to day I could have done a bit better, but my goal was top five in the races here, and then build during the year to close the gap.

“But we were in the race for the podium, and I just enjoyed being able to fight with the guys.”

![Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/02/644709484.jpg)

Team-mate Michael van der Mark ended his maiden Yamaha appearance down in ninth after struggling for drive out of the corners, which ultimately robbed him of a little confidence on the bike.

The Dutchman will start tomorrow’s race from sixth on the grid, and hopes to find a solution to his corner exit woes in the morning warm-up.