Race 1 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship was a dramatic affair and two of the standout riders featured epic comebacks from both Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati). The #22 started from ninth before coming home in second place, while reigning Champion Bautista left the grid in 11^th before fighting his way into third place at Donington Park.

HEROIC HOME COMEBACK: from the third row to the rostrum

Lowes was classified ninth in the morning Tissot Superpole session, although he did have a time good enough for the front row deleted due to yellow flags. It left the Brit going from the third row, but he made swift progress in the early stages, climbing into the lead fight. Running in fourth, he set his sights on Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) ahead and passed his compatriot on Lap 12 at Goddards, when the #45 ran wide. Two laps later, he overtook Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) at the Melbourne Loop to move into second, where he remained for the rest of the race.

Reacting to a home podium and an epic comeback, Lowes said: “It was a great race. I knew I had pretty good pace, all weekend I’ve been fast. We worked on long run and end of race pace, between laps 10 and 23 around Donington is a tough place to be! The bike felt great, I struggled with the front towards the end. I was having to make a lot of time up in the mid part of the race, making some passes and trying to pass Scott and Bulega. I was a little bit worried when I saw Bautista on the pit board, he’s always super-fast at the end of races! I’m so happy to be back on the podium in a long race here at Donington Park. It’s a proper home race for me. Lots of friends and family are here and it’s nice to reward their support with a good race. I’m riding very well at the moment, I’m confident and in our sport, confidence helps massively. I’d say it’s my best ride at Donington.”

TYRE GAMBLE PAYS OFF: SCX for Bautista, others on SC0

With nothing to lose from 11^th on the grid, double Champion Bautista opted for a contrasting tyre choice. Rather than use the SC0, which most of the grid used, the #1 selected the softer SCX option and used it to good effect. He took a measured approach to his fight through the field, completing the first lap in ninth, the second in eighth, third in seventh and fourth in sixth. He remained in sixth for the next eight laps before passing Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) for fifth and then Redding for fourth. He moved into third when passing teammate Bulega, but he was unable to challenge Lowes for second, finishing in P3.

On his tyre choice and podium fightback, Bautista said: “It was a really fun race. Starting from 11^th, I did a really good comeback! I made a lot of overtakes and I did a gamble because I used the soft rear and it worked, especially with more temperature, it helped me to use the tyre. At the same time, I had to be careful in the beginning because, if you destroy the tyre in the first two laps, you’ll never recover. I was just trying to be as careful as possible in the first few laps and then tried to push step by step. I started to overtake people and I saw that I was closing in on the front riders. On the other side, the feeling with the bike isn’t the best, like it was last year. I can’t force the bike or ride as I want. Every time I try to force it, I lose the bike. It’s very difficult. We need to keep working, try to improve. I’m happy because today, this was the maximum we could do. We were on the limit. Last season, with the SCX tyre, it was impossible to do any races here even the Superpole Race. This year, maybe because the asphalt has been used more, and accepts the soft tyres more, I tried it for a few laps yesterday and today but no more than seven or eight laps. The feeling was good, the drop wasn’t terrible and then the track had a high temperature. We made a gamble trusting that, after 10 laps, the tyres would keep good performance. It was a good choice."

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