Alex Lowes of Pata Yamaha claims podium win in Portimão

Michelle Liew

September 9, 2019

Alex Lowes has managed to bounce back to a stellar outcome in Portimão, Portugal.

The WorldSBK race in Portimão has just ended and Pata Yamaha WorldSBK‘s Alex Lowes has reclaimed third position in the championship standings. The rider showed a strong performance today and managed to reach the podium after finishing third place in the Superpole Sprint race. Alex Lowes then endured a long battle in Race 2 against compatriot Leon Haslam to come in fourth place.

Here is what the riders have to say for the race in Portimão.

Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK)- As It Happened

Photo credits: Yamaha Racing

“Yesterday I was a bit frustrated because of a lack of grip in the latter stages meant I couldn’t really race. But it was the complete opposite today, with two really good races. The battle with Leon Haslam in Race 2 was fantastic and really good fun. He was struggling with the front and I was struggling more with the rear. So while he could get the run on me, he couldn’t get the bike stopped, which made for a really close race. To get a third and a fourth today, at a track where I’ve struggled a bit in the past when it’s hot, is fantastic. Good racing, I really enjoyed it and now I’m looking forward to Magny-Cours,” says Alex Lowes as quoted from Yamaha Racing.

Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK)- As It Happened

Photo credits: Yamaha Racing

“The Superpole race wasn’t easy, but our goal was to improve the feeling with the bike and secure a better grid position for Race 2 and we achieved that.  We made a small change to the set up ahead of Race 2. As a result, I struggled a lot more than yesterday, unfortunately. Yesterday I could ride the bike exactly how I wanted, but today I simply didn’t have a good feeling from the start. I wasn’t able to maintain a consistent pace. I lost a lot of time, which is a shame. Although we know where we need to improve. I’m confident we’ll be back at the front in Magny-Cours, which is a track I really like.”

Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK)- As It Happened

Alex Lowes | Photo credits: Yamaha Racing

“It’s been a difficult round, but a positive is that for Race 2 we found the best set-up that we’ve had here this weekend in Portimão. Even so, it was still a tough race. My problem is clear, but finding a solution has so far proved tricky. Despite the hard work of Yamaha and my team. I need a better start because this is always better. But I also need to be more consistent in the race. It was really hard for me to use the same line every lap and I was working the tyre really hard. When the front grip dropped down then I was struggling a lot today. In the end, I think everyone was struggling for rear grip, but we know we still have some work to do ahead of the next race in Magny-Cours.”

Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha Supported WorldSBK)- As It Happened

Photo credits: Yamaha Racing

“From the first lap in Race 2 this afternoon I had a big problem with the rear of the bike sliding around. I wasn’t able to stay with the second group. We don’t know what the cause was, because I felt pretty good in the Superpole race this morning. I had a good race. This afternoon I managed to finish top-ten but my expectations after this morning were much higher. But it was a weekend without a crash, my self-confidence is back, and I was happy with both Race 1 and the Superpole race. Race 2 this afternoon I felt much stronger in myself than was reflected in the result.”

Loris Baz (Ten Kate Yamaha Supported WorldSBK)- As It Happened

Sandro Cortese | Photo credits: Yamaha Racing

“It was a hard day yesterday for me. I made a mistake in qualifying and that had a huge impact on the weekend as a whole.  In the Superpole race, the only goal was top nine to improve my grid position for Race 2 and I managed that, despite dropping back to 18th from the start. Race 2 was okay, other than another bad start. Which is something we need to work on, but I managed to come back.”

“I lost a lot of time, around three seconds, behind Tom Sykes. That meant once I’d managed to pass him, I had a big gap to Michael van der Mark ahead of me. But I managed to close the gap without killing the tyre. The race simulations we did at the test paid off, and I eventually passed him for sixth. I’m happy with the result; the guys worked really hard after my mistake yesterday, so big thanks to them. We enjoyed a strong weekend and we showed that we’re getting closer and closer to the podium.”