For Alex Lowes, racing just down the road from his twin brother Sam’s place over the Misano WorldSBK weekend hardly made it a home round. Especially the hot temperatures made it feel foreign for him on what was his first visit to Misano on the Kawasaki.

Without the right level of front grip he was expecting Lowes had a tough weekend, although two fifths and then a sixth were still more than useful points that keep him fourth overall, even ahead of double race winner Michael Ruben Rinaldi. No more podiums to add to his three from the season opener in Aragon, however. The reasons why were explained plainly.  

“We struggled in the hot conditions to really find the feeling that we wanted," Lowes told bikesportews.com. "In the Superpole race I felt a little bit better. So then we made a change for the second race, the balance of the bike a bit more forward. Because I felt like this morning was better, but it looks like this afternoon when we arrived above 50 degrees of track temperature… I was really struggling to carry the corner speed after maybe six or seven laps already. So, it was a shame because the last thirteen laps I was just riding around.”

Lowes could feel Gerloff coming late in race two. “I could see Gerloff catching me, but when he passed me it was like he was on a different track,” said the former Yamaha factory rider. “I had no chance to battle with him. The grip he had to turn the bike compared to me; I was struggling. So unfortunately I couldn’t fight with him. From this side it was a frustrating race, but we did make a change on the front to try to improve our performance.

It looks like for the second one it was a bit worse. Misano in these hot conditions is a special place. So now I feel a lot better prepared for other tracks if we have hot temperatures because I’ve done two races anyway on the Kawasaki to have some more experience.”

Again, Donington at the next round will be a new Kawasaki experience for Lowes, because of the loss of so many planned race weekends to Covid restrictions last year - his first with Kawasaki.

“It’s going to be the first time there with this team, and the first time there for a couple of years, so it’s great,” said Lowes about riding at home again. “It’s nice to be going back home to race. Obviously I live close by. It doesn’t feel as special as a home race. We’ve got a lot of English guys, so it’s a home race for a lot of us, but it’s a track that I’ve always gone to ride in the past. One I really enjoy. I’m happy that the World Superbike races are going back there. I can’t wait to get there.”