WSB: Alex Lowes returns to action in Misano

Injured Alex Lowes returned to action with the PATA Yamaha team in a brief test at Misano yesterday, riding for the first time since pulling out of the weekend’s Donington Park World Superbike round.

The British ace broke his collarbone in an incident at Sepang last month and while he tried his best to ride in front of home fans at Donington, he was forced to pull out after struggling to complete longer runs on his Yamaha YZF-R1.

After a tough start to the season, Lowes was adamant to return to action for the Misano test as Yamaha look to make a step forward in the second half of the season.

Completing only short runs, he spent the day working through an extensive test programme with a particular focus on electronic strategies.

“I am still frustrated as we have plenty of things to try but I’m not fit enough to get through them all,” Lowes said. “However, the work we did manage yesterday was good and I’m optimistic for the race in two weeks. I want to send a massive thank you to the whole team for all their hard work to make the test happen in such a busy schedule. I really appreciate it!”

With Sylvain Guintoli still injured, PATA Yamaha Superstock rider Niccolo Canepa stepped in for testing duties, working on an all-new engine spec for the YZF-R1.