Alex Lowes believes Bimota’s package is still far from where it needs to be after recording three fourth-place WorldSBK finishes in Portimao.
The Lincolnshire rider noted he felt closer to the podium in Race 2 after making changes to the front-end setup, but was still not quite close enough to secure a rostrum finish.
Following Ducati’s dominant 1-2 finishes from Nicolo Bulega and Iker Lecuona across all three races, Lowes suggested several riders could likely achieve similar results on that bike.
“I was a lot closer today. Yesterday was a different 4th place to today,” shared Lowes to the media, including Motorsport Week.
“Today [Sunday], I was in the mix. I think Nicolo was just going the pace he needed to go to win.
“Obviously, we’ve seen Iker’s performance this weekend is, like, someone we’ve never seen [in WorldSBK].
“So, clearly, they’ve got that package working well. We know his talent, fantastic rider, talented rider, but this… the reality is, without sounding bad, there’s probably 10 guys on the grid. We could all agree that could do that job on that bike.
“So we’re relying on him or them. I’m not taking anything away from Iker, because when you’re on that bike, you have to deliver, and he’s done a fantastic job, worked hard all winter, and he’s delivering, so well done to him.”
He added that Ducati’s performances highlight the strength of its package, which gives him clear motivation to keep improving to reduce the margin.
“But it just shows the package they have. And it stands for everyone else, to try to get better and improve, isn’t it?
“I don’t know what else I can say about, you know, the top five was the same, but I feel like I was closer today, nearly had a chance to be better [with the podium].
“We can just try to improve on what we’ve got, keep working hard, keep positive, and that’s it.”
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