Ninth in the morning FP1 session, Lowes was second for much of the warmer FP2 session and finally ended up a strong fourth fastest in the combined times.

Bassani, now almost halfway through his first season as a factory rider for KRT, placed 15th on the completion of day one at Most. Despite this position his best lap time was only just over one second from the pace of the fastest rider on the day, Toprak Razgatlioglu. Axel was also just half a second from the third best lap time, in what was another incredibly close free practice contest in WorldSBK.

The weather conditions at Most were warm and dry but also humid, making this intense track layout, with its 21 corners and curves, a physical as well as a technical challenge.

Now Alex and Axel will take on FP3, Tissot-Superpole Qualifying and then a 22-lap Race One on Saturday 20 July before the final raceday of the weekend on Sunday.

Alex Lowes, stated: “The bike felt quite good today, although Toprak was very fast again. This has not been the easiest track for me on the Kawasaki but in some parts, the twister sections, the bike was working really well and I feel good on it. There are some things to improve, like through sector one and to stop a bit better. Overall I am quite satisfied. I did plenty of laps, the pace was quite good, so it was a solid day’s work.”

Axel Bassani, stated: “First day at Most and we worked a lot to try and understand some things. We did all of FP1 with a front tyre that was not my preference, due to the allocation for this round. In FP2 we started to work with the right tyre option. The feeling was not bad, even from the first pitlane exit. We are only one second from first place but the position in the timesheets is 15th. So, for sure, we will have to work to do on Saturday.”

Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) ended up 18th on Friday, 1.443 seconds from the very best pace.

2024 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics

Alex Lowes:
2024: Races: 15, Wins 2, Podiums 6, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 4 (3 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 40 (20 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 1 (0 for Kawasaki)

Axel Bassani:
2024: Races: 15, Wins 0, Podiums 0, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 0 (0 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 6 (0 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 0 (0 for Kawasaki)

8 x Riders’ Championships (Scott Russell 1993, Tom Sykes 2013, Jonathan Rea 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020), 1 x EVO Riders’ Championship (David Salom 2014)
6 x Manufacturers’ Championships (Ninja ZX-10R 2015 & 2016, Ninja ZX-10RR 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020)
5 x Teams’ Championships (KRT/Provec Racing 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019)

Kawasaki FIM Superbike World Championship Statistics
Total Kawasaki Race Wins: 180 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Podiums: 548 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Poles: 108 – second overall

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