Kawasaki Racing will be forced to do without Alex Lowes, one of its starting riders, in the tenth round of the 2023 World Superbike Championship.
Lowes, after being forced to miss the race heats in France and having undergone meniscus surgery in his left knee, was not yet ready to get back on the Ninja ZX-10RR.
“After Magny Cours I made the difficult decision to go to Barcelona to have surgery on my knee. The operation went well. Since then I have focused on my recovery and worked as hard as possible. Physically I feel good and am able to run”.
“However, the team has decided that the best option is to wait for Portugal next weekend. I respect their decision and focus on supporting Florian, Jonathan and the team, improving myself in time for the next event in Portimao.”
“It’s a shame because I showed good speed in the recent Aragon tests and at the Magny Cours weekend. But that’s behind us now and it’s time to look ahead and try to get on the podium again before the end of the 2023 season.”
Florian Marino, Alex Lowes, Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
For this reason, in Aragon, venue of the next round of the Superbike World Championship, Kawasaki has decided to entrust the second green bike to Florian Marino, who will become Jonathan Rea’s teammate.
“First of all I wish the best recovery to my friend and driver Alex Lowes,” said Marino. “I know that he will be back to racing faster very soon. For me it is a great opportunity as a test driver for KRT.”
“I believe this weekend will also help me improve my knowledge of the Kawasaki ZX-10RR and of course I am looking forward to working with the technical team. Personally I have no expectations, I will just try to make the most of this opportunity for all participants I thank Kawasaki and Provec Racing for their trust!”.
These instead are the words of Guim Roda, team manager of the Kawasaki Racing Team: “We have decided to rest Alex at home for this round, but he is training hard to be at 110% for the Portimao round. Just nine days before the knee surgery we didn’t want to force his body to the stress of racing, to allow him to recover properly.”
“We could have kept a bike in the garage for a race, but together with KMC Japan we decided to give Florian the chance to race. He already has a test rider assignment for KRT, so he will race at Motorland and continue to collect data to develop the bike in real racing conditions”.
“It will be a good way to see the pace he is able to reach, as he will continue to work in the winter months to test elements of the highest level.”
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