Suzuka Eight-Hours rookie Alex Lowes says he was ‘proud’ to lead the race for most of the first hour yesterday and narrowly missed out on a podium, with his Yoshimura Suzuki team taking fourth place.

Given the role as lead rider to begin the race, a dominant start to Lowes’ debut endurance event saw him take the lead on the opening laps. Overtaken by the factory Honda entry of Takahashi on lap four, Lowes found his rhythm and repassed on lap seven, stretching his lead and looking comfortable at the front of the 70-rider field throughout his hour-long stint.

Lowes entered the pits with a four-second lead, handing the Suzuki to teammate Takuya Tsuda. Returning to the track for his second shift on the Yoshimura GSX-R1000, the British racer continued his strong form in second position and proved to be consistently the fastest of the Yoshimura team riders.

A crash by Tsuda and the ensuing necessary repairs by the Yoshimura crew cost the team the overall chance of victory, but they fought back to a well-deserved fifth place overall at the end of a gruelling eight hours, having completed 201 laps of the iconic  circuit.

“I really enjoyed my Suzuka experience a lot but it was a difficult race. We got a great start, and I had three really good stints so I think I can be proud of myself. Leading for the first hour was also a great experience,” said Lowes.

“We had some problems during the race, but the final result was good. Thanks to Yoshimura for giving me the opportunity for my first ever endurance race, now I need to concentrate on the day job and getting back to WSBK in Sepang later this week.”