Kawasaki's Alex Lowes will race a Kawasaki for the first time at Misano this weekend when the WorldSBK circus travels to the Rimini coast.

Covid restrictions meant the race was cancelled last year, so the 30-year-old Briton will attack the 2.6-mile track with only a smattering of data but he knows that front-end grip is absolutely critical.

“With not having a normal calendar last year I have not race for Kawasaki at all the tracks coming up this year but I know Misano really well and I know that Kawasakis have gone well there in the past," said Lowes.

"I am actually excited to challenge myself by racing at Misano on the green machine. We have a good set-up on the bike, which we have arrived at in the winter tests.

"It has worked at quite a lot of tracks so I am quite confident that it will also work at Misano. I am looking forward to getting back into action. It is going to be important to work hard and well on Friday.

"I know the track was resurfaced last year so we need to check tyre life and which tyres we like, especially on the front because that can be critical at Misano. It is just great to be going back to Italy.

'Misano is always a fantastic round and one we missed last year so I am really looking forward to going back and getting stuck in this weekend.”