Alex Lowes admits he cannot wait to face the challenge of the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve this weekend as the World Superbike Championship touches down in Portugal. The Briton enjoyed his best weekend since Thailand two weeks ago with a brace of top six finishes at Donington Park, results that fill him with confidence ahead of this weekend.
“I really like the Portimao circuit, it’s quite fast and with the up-and-down layout it’s a bit like Cadwell Park on steroids! It’s a very physical track which requires a lot of rider input, and you also have to be very precise as off line it can be bumpy in places. My best section is the final part – the second-to-last corner is off-camber and it’s nice to slide the bike there – but my favourite corner is the final one as it’s a fast downhill-right with two apex’s and is very hard to get right. But an awesome feeling when you do! Whether it’s your first track day or going for WSBK pole you can really enjoy this place and I can’t wait to race my GSX-R there again!”
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki teammate Randy de Puniet is also looking forward to competing at Portimao although his recent form in World Superbikes has shown no signs of improving.
“I’m excited to race at Portimao because it looks like a beautiful circuit. The pre-season test in January was my first visit here but the weather was not good for us. We only managed a few laps so I understand the first and last corners, but for me it will be very much like a new track. It’s a really good layout but the surface is really bumpy so this will be critical to set-up the bike properly for the suspension. I’m hoping for some more luck this weekend: We had a really good start to the UK round but were very unlucky Saturday and Sunday, so I’m looking to start this round as we did on Friday at Donington and then to continue to improve throughout the weekend and have two good races.”
