Snetterton BSB: Lowes takes dominant win in Norfolk sunshine

Alex Lowes took the first race win in dominant form at Snetterton today, in glorious sunshine and temperatures in the high twenties.

Tyco Suzuki racer Josh Brookes led off the line, managing to pull an early lead over Rapid Soliciters Kawasaki’s Shane Byrne and Samsung Honda’s Alex Lowes.

The big battle of the opening laps was for fourth, with James Ellison battling a resurgent Ryuchi Kiyonari and old hand Chris Walker.

However, the exploding engine of Tommy Bridewell on lap two soon brought out the safety car to allow for oil cleanup.

The restart, two laps later, closed the opening battle right up, allowing Lowes to make a move past Byrne at Montreal and then Brookes at Agostini to take the lead.

Lowes was then able to escape, with Brookes feeling pressure in the battle for second, with Byrne and Ellison breathing down his neck.

By lap 10, however, the battle at the front had closed up again into a five-way race, with Kiyonari joining from the rear as the leaders caught Lowes again. Brookes initially looked like he would make a move past Lowes, but a response by the Samsung Honda rider allowed him to maintain his gap.

Lowes was able to maintain his advantage all the way to the line to take his second win of the year. Brookes was almost pipped by Byrne, who drag raced him to the line to lose out by only 0.043 seconds.

Ellison was fourth on the Milwaukee Yamaha, while Kiyonari held out for fifth.

A fast last lap crash for PJ Jacobsen dropped him from a best ever BSB finish of sixth, giving James Westmoreland an excellent finish after an earlier grasstracking excursion left him dead last.

The top ten was filled out with BSB’s international contingent, with Dane Robin Harms seventh, Czech Jakob Smrz eighth, Aussie Josh Waters ninth and Italian Matteo Biaocco tenth.

Chris Walker, after running as high as sixth, was black flagged with only a handful of laps remaining after his Bournemouth Kawasaki started to smoke.

Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider Keith Farmer has been ruled out of this weekend’s action after a heavy crash yesterday left him with a blood clot in his thigh.

1 Alex Lowes Samsung Honda
2 Josh Brookes Tyco Suzuki
3 Shane Byrne Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki
4 James Ellison Milwaukee Yamaha
5 Ryuichi Kiyonari Samsung Honda
6 Robbin Harms Doodson Motorsport Honda
7 Jakub Smrz Padgett’s Honda
8 James Westmoreland Buildbase BMW
9 Josh Waters Milwaukee Yamaha
10 Matteo Baiocco Rapido Sport Racing Ducati