The second half of the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is about to get underway and, to review the first half of the season, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) sat down at Donington Park for an in-depth feature interview. From his start to the year, the changes in the KRT box, racing against his twin brother and the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team project for 2025 onwards, Lowes spoke candidly about a variety of topics.

THE FIRST HALF OF 2024: more points than 2023, close to season-best podium tally

There’s been a noticeable step up in terms of consistent results for Lowes throughout the first six rounds of the season. He’s racked up seven rostrums already – only two shy of his all-time best season from 2019 – and is on 179 points, more than he scored last season. Two wins in Australia started his campaign perfectly, and he’s taken a rostrum in every round bar the Catalunya Round, where he was in the top six.

Discussing his season so far, Lowes stated he was in one of his best moments: “The start of 2024 season’s been good for me. We started the year strongly, winning a couple of races, and this really set us up with some confidence. When we came back to Europe, we’ve been strong. I’ve been enjoying it a lot and it’s been a solid and consistent start to the year. This year, I’m enjoying my riding as much as ever. I think I’m riding as good as I’ve ever ridden. I think I’m doing a good job with the bike, the package, and the team. I would say I’m in one of my best moments.”

PAST AND PRESENT: “Always nice to judge yourself against one of the best ever… Axel’s done a fantastic job the last two or three years”

Lowes first joined Kawasaki in 2020 and was teammates with Jonathan Rea until the end of the 2023 season, giving the #22 a yardstick about his performance compared to the six-time Champion and the rider who tops the charts in most statistics for WorldSBK. For 2024, that dynamic changed, with Axel Bassani joining KRT to replace Rea after the #65 departed for Yamaha. Lowes spoke about the change in the team after being teammates with Rea and now Bassani as well as the movement inside the box, with the four-time race winner now working with Pere Riba as his crew chief.

Expanding on this topic, Lowes said: “Honestly, I quite enjoyed being teammates with Jonathan, the years we had together. It’s always nice to judge and compare yourself to one of the best ever in WorldSBK. I enjoyed it. This year, I changed some guys in the team. I’m just trying to improve myself, trying to be better, more consistent and eliminate some mistakes. Just trying to do well for me and the team, I’ve been here a long time now. To be honest, if you want to say being the leader of the team, I don’t really look at it like that. Axel’s joined the team so he doesn’t have as much experience with the Kawasaki, but he’s done a fantastic job in the last two or three years. I just try to keep improving, do my best with the guys. I have a fantastic relationship with the team, and I want to do well for them.”

A NEW CREW: “Working with the new guys in the team has been great”

Following Rea’s move, there was a switch inside the team too. Lowes moved across to work with Rea’s old crew, including Riba as his crew chief, while Bassani came in with his teammate’s old crew. Lowes has spoken before about how it’s a “different” way of working with Riba as he looks to find more consistency and secure the best results possible even if a win or a podium isn’t possible on any given day, and he discussed that again during the special interview.

He said: “Working with the new guys in the team has been great. With Pere, it’s a different way of working. He’s been there, racing in the past, so he really tries to help me on that side; the sporting side, riding side and mental side let’s say. Also, with Sander, the electronics guy, we’ve been able to find a good relationship where he understands what I want from the bike quite quickly in winter testing. This gives you some confidence with the electronics. Arturo, my main mechanic that was with Jonathan for years, has been fantastic. Little comments, puts his arm around you when you need it, it’s a pleasure. I’m really enjoying working with them and it’s obviously going well. It’s easier to enjoy when it’s going well but I believe, and it’ll happen, the weekends where it’s not going as well, we have a really good team atmosphere to make sure we maximise the best results we can get which is part of the game.”

A NEW PROJECT: “Going to be fantastic for me… a very exciting time for everyone”

2025 will feature the current KRT squad morphing into the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team outfit, still run by Provec Racing which brought the Japanese manufacturer so much success. Lowes and Bassani are signed up for the new project and Lowes explained how he believes this project is at the right time for him and how it’s exciting for everyone involved.

Lowes explained: “I feel it’s going to be fantastic for me. It’s at the right time of my career. I’m still fast. I’ve got a lot of experience on different manufacturers. To be able to give the guys this experience to let’s say improve a new package, it’s going to be good for them and also very interesting for me. We have a lot to focus on this year but, when the time comes, we’ll have some hard work to do in the winter to be ready to start the 2025 season in the best way possible. I think it’s a very exciting time for everyone.”

A SIBLING RIVALRY: “Our dream is trying to be on the podium together at some point”

In 2024, Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) made his WorldSBK debut and both him and Alex have made it clear they would like to be on the podium together. Ducati rider Sam has shown good pace at times following his switch from Moto2™ as he learns the Panigale V4 R and Pirelli tyres during his rookie season, although he’s also had a couple of crashes, including during the most recent round in the Czech Republic which left him with a fractured collarbone.

On racing with his brother and the relationship between the pair, Alex said: “It’s great to have Sam in the paddock. Obviously, he’s had a tough couple of races but if we can be fighting at the front, this will be better. When I see him on track, I’m always smiling. It’s great to share the track together; it’s what we dreamed about doing since we were kids. Our dream is trying to be on the podium together at some point in the World Championship, so we have to keep working hard for this. It’s great to have him there, travelling together, spending more time together… we’re so close, it’s just good to have him here in the paddock.”

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