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Alex Lowes is the one who best interpreted the Cremona track at the end of the first day of free practice, setting the best time of 1'29''685. The British rider thus brought up his Kawasaki, ahead even of the Ducatis of Petrucci and Bulega. It is a no-filters Alex Lowes who presents himself to journalists, praising the circuit's efforts undertaken since his last visit during testing to improve safety, and calling for the return of injured rival Toprak, the only one he says deserves the title. Fourth in the standings, but far behind the Turkish man's BMW and Bulega's Ducati, he has no regrets, and admits that rather than a leap forward by Kawasaki, one should speak of a step backward by Bautista, who is third just eight points behind his ZX-10RR.
"We had already lapped here at the tests but the temperatures were much higher," says Alex Lowes, "but today there was more grip and the temperatures were lower. I tried the SCX on the rear because it was the only session where we could do it before tomorrow's race and I must say that the impressions were pretty good. Obviously there are areas where you can improve, but honestly I enjoyed it, and I have to say I enjoyed the circuit as well, it's very fast."
"When I returned to the track I had changed both tires and encountered some traffic," the Briton continued, "normally during free practice you want to slow down and create some space, but to be honest I don't know this circuit very well and I don't know what it's like to lap here with other riders, so I took the opportunity to try to see if there were any spots suitable for overtaking. The track is narrow and there aren't many of them, so I joined the group and looked at points where I could overtake or risk being overtaken. Then when I broke free, the pace was similar to the first tires. Also deciding what kind of character we want from the tires won't be easy, the ones have slightly more grip on the edge, the others are stronger but lift the bike, tomorrow will have to make a decision ahead of the race."
What do you think of this track in terms of safety?
"I think they've done a good job, they've moved the barriers back at turns 8 and 10, the last corner is very slow so the run-off is closer. It's hard to give an answer, of course it would be easier to have fifty meters of run-off in each corner. My opinion, after being here at the tests, is that they have done a fantastic job, it's nice to see a circuit put so much effort into it. Obviously you can still improve, but it's the same at other circuits we race at during the year. So my impression is positive."
This season you lost some points that would have allowed you to be closer to the two leaders in the standings, the title maybe would have been within your reach. Do you have any regrets?
"Last season I was often injured to be honest. You look very often at results on their own but when I was riding I was fast, I often qualified on the front row, when I hit my face in Jerez I was leading the race. So I was not slow last year, but this season we know our bike well, which is not the newest bike on the grid, we always have to run on the limit. When you race on the limit you often make mistakes. The race in Most was frustrating, when Bulega kept passing me on the straight and I crashed in the slow corner, that was my mistake. In Magny Cours when it rained I was fast enough to win the race, but many riders crashed. There, those are the two races where I could have done better. However, I don't think now that I have the speed to win the title. Maybe we can say that now because Toprak is injured, but it would not be correct because Toprak has a huge advantage in the standings. I would like him to be here on the track with us, he should be and he deserves it, he is the only one I think deserves to win the title. So I hope to see him again soon. As for me I think I'm doing a good job, it's not easy to be consistent on our bike, I try but I'm on the limit. I have no regrets in the end, do I regret Australia? Because there I gave more than I had to, you can't have regrets, racing is like that you have to take what goes right and what goes wrong."
Objectively, though, the Kawasaki was in more trouble last year.
"The reality is that Bautista was slower this year. If he had the speed of last year he would have been ahead of me and Toprak by ten seconds, that's the reality . We are not much faster than last year, but we are doing a good job."
