Highs with Lowes at Thruxton

Kawasaki British Superbike team MSS Colchester Kawasaki had a weekend of joy and heartbreak at Thruxton after Alex Lowes secured the team’s first ever Superbike pole position, but bad luck saw his strong race pace fail to deliver the podium it deserved. A double podium in the Superstock race helped to ease the team’s disappointment during a weekend’s racing marred by bad weather.

Having given MSS Colchester Kawasaki their first pole position in British Superbikes, Alex Lowes followed it up with two strong race performances in difficult conditions that showed how much promise the young rider has in his first outing on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. Standing in for injured rider Stuart Easton, Lowes led the first race before a lack of visibility dropped him to a very creditable seventh place.

Alex crashed out of the second race while chasing down leader Shane Byrne. Gary Mason had a difficult weekend, suffering electrical issues in the first race and being forced to start the second from the pit lane after suspension problems. Despite this setback, he still finished fourteenth, securing valuable championship points.

Alex Lowes said, “I’m happy that on my first time on the bike I showed I have the speed with pole position and leading the first race but obviously I’m disappointed I crashed out of the second one. I’m still learning so I just need to understand when to push and when to back off. I really wanted to do well for the team, they have had such a tough few weeks they deserved to be on the podium. The bike is fantastic, the team are great to work with and I’d like to say sorry to the whole team I couldn’t reward them with any trophies this weekend.”

Gary Mason said, “The electrical issues meant that the first race was a disaster but having started from the pit lane in race two, getting back to fourteenth proves that I have the speed. Two points is useful but the main thing is I know we will be strong at Knockhill.”

National Superstock 1000 riders Danny Buchan and team mate Howie Mainwaring stood together on the Thruxton podium for the first time with Danny securing second and Howie third in a race that was cut short due to the weather. Having led for the majority of laps, Howie was overtaken by Danny and eventual race winner Richard Cooper, before a shower saw the race red flagged on lap 11 of 15. Danny’s second place saw him retain the lead in the National Superstock 1000 championship while his first podium of 2011 saw Howie leap up to seventh in the standings.

Danny Buchan said, “Thruxton has never been a good track for us and after qualifying I thought our bad luck would continue. But the team really pulled out all the stops in practice and we changed the suspension and got it working perfectly, which made me really confident for the race. The conditions were horrible for the race and after the safety car I was planning on following the leaders and making a move in the final laps, but then the race was red flagged, which was annoying. That said, obviously I’m happy to come away with second in the race and leading the Superstock Championship and I’m looking forward to Knockhill, which is a track I love.”

Howie Mainwaring said, “We knew we had good race pace from qualifying but the weather made it really tricky so I decided to take it steady. I think I was holding up a few riders in the slower sections but it’s much easier to follow than lead in these conditions! It’s a shame the weather caught us out because I knew I could have come back at Danny and Richard in the last laps. Third isn’t a bad result and it’s a good confidence boost after a tricky start to the season.”

Team owner Nick Morgan said, “The last few weeks have been hard on the team but Alex has stepped in under difficult circumstances and done a great job. In the dry he rode fantastically to set pole position and I can’t fault him for his commitment and dedication, possibly he needs to understand when to back off and not ride 110% but you can’t fault the guy for trying. Seeing both Superstock riders on the podium was brilliant, Danny is riding so well at the moment and I’m really pleased Howie’s hard work has seen him rewarded.”