LOWES UP TO SPEED AT JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA
The three-day test at Jerez de la Frontera has drawn to a close, with Sam Lowes and the Federal Oil Gresini Racing Team on great form in what has been the last preseason test on European oil. It will be all about Qatar tomorrow as the final test before the season opener will take place at the Losail Internatioanl Circuit on March 1-3, followed closely by the maiden Grand Prix of the year.
The fomer World Supersport champion was the second-quickest overall courtesy of a 1’40.989secs lap-time; with only a 0.007secs gap from Binder, Lowes was the fastest Kalex rider of the test. The quickest lap by the Briton came during the second of three sessions (he did not take part in the final one), a sign of good things to come.
On the second day, Lowes crashed unhurt twice, first at turn six in the morning and then at turn 11 in the second session. Despite the setback, he managed to work hard with the teams on many areas of the bike, including electronics and geometry, but also on suspensions and swingarm.
2nd– SAM LOWES #22
“It’s been a very positive test. We were second and not too far from Binder, and our lap-time came during the ninth lap and with hard used tyres. We could have improved even further with the softer compound, but the idea was to work on our race pace and so we did. During the first two days we focused on bike geometry and many other settings, while today we found the best possible setup based on the data from the previous days. We were quick and consistent, so we’re heading to Qatar with great motivation.”
