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LOWES SHINES AT DONINGTON PARK WITH DOUBLE PODIUM FINISHES
Local rider Alex Lowes had an impressive weekend at the Donington Park FIM Superbike World Championship, achieving strong podium finishes in both Race One and Race Two, while his teammate Axel Bassani faced a challenging yet resilient performance.
In the Superpole qualifying session, Lowes initially placed third but was penalized for grazing the track limits, relegating him to ninth on the grid. Bassani started from 16th. Race One saw Lowes make a rapid start, climbing to sixth on the first lap. By lap 12, he had reached the podium positions and secured second place on lap 14, maintaining it until the end. This marked his fifth podium finish of the year and his strongest individual performance at Donington in WorldSBK. Despite an early push, Bassani struggled with rear grip and finished 12th after reaching as high as tenth on lap nine. Rain clouds loomed late in the race but did not disrupt the 23 laps, which were completed in dry, cool conditions.
In Race Two, Lowes displayed consistent high speed, finishing third after a strong performance in the earlier ten-lap sprint race where he placed fifth. Starting from the second row in Race Two, he quickly moved to fourth and then passed Scott Redding on lap five to secure his podium position. This third-place finish was Lowes' 20th Kawasaki podium and his 40th overall in WorldSBK. It also marked his 300th race start in the series. After falling in the Sprint Race, Bassani fought back to finish tenth in Race Two, starting from 16th on the grid due to his Sprint Race no-score. Both Sunday races were won by Toprak Razgatlioglu, but Lowes' two podiums and consistent points made this his second-best weekend of the season, second only to his opening round performance in Australia.
After five of 12 rounds, Lowes is fourth in the WorldSBK championship standings with 165 points, while Bassani is 12th with 50 points. The WorldSBK paddock will now move to the Czech circuit of Autodrom Most for the sixth round of the championship from July 19-21.
