Britain’s Alex Lowes looks set to stand in for the injured Bradley Smith at next weekend’s Silverstone MotoGP round and the following race in Misano as the Monster Yamaha rider recovers from his Oscherseleben injuries.
Lowes made his debut on the YZR-M1 at the Brno test and set an impressive 1’59.558 on his last lap before tipping off. The Pata Yamaha World Superbike man was only a second slower than Danilo Petrucci and less than two off Tito Rabat, who put in 83 laps in the Czech Republic track.
The Derby-based rider has no World Superbike commitments until the following weekend at Laustizring but it all hinges on Smith’s recovery process from the big crash he suffered in Germany which necessitated a stay in hospital.
“We are still not sure on the condition of Bradley, but if they did ask me to stand in, it would be an awesome thing to do,” said a non-committal Lowes at the Cadwell Park BSB round.
Yamaha do have the option of installing test rider Kats Nakasuga for the two rounds but Lowes has far more intimate knowledge of the two circuits and won the Suzuka Eight-Hours with Smith’s team-mate Pol Espargaro, so will have an ally in the other side of the garage.
