World Superbike: Alex Lowes to skip Aragon after surgery

Lowes went under the knife last Tuesday following the previous round at Magny-Cours, where a damaged meniscus on his left knee left him unable to complete the Superpole race, while also ruling him out of the second full-distance race.

Despite the operation being a success, the decision has now been taken for the British rider to sit out the Aragon weekend and focus on recovering for next week's penultimate round of the season at Portimao.

Lowes' place alongside Jonathan Rea for the weekend will be taken over by Kawasaki test rider Florian Marino.

"After Magny-Cours, I took the tough decision to go to Barcelona to have surgery on my knee," said Lowes. "The operation went well. Since then, I have been fully focused on my recovery and working as hard as possible.

"Physically, I feel good and in a position where I could ride. However, the team have decided the best option is to wait for Portugal next weekend. I respect their decision and switch my focus toward supporting Florian, Jonathan and the team, whilst improving myself in time for the next event in Portimao.

"It’s a shame because I showed some strong speed in the recent Aragon test and Magny-Cours weekend. They are behind us now, and it’s time to look forward and try to get on the podium again before the end of the 2023 season.”

 

Marino will make only his second WSBK outing, with his last appearance coming back in 2018 when he stood in for PJ Jacobsen at the Triple M Honda outfit in Argentina, scoring a best finish of 11th.

Kawasaki team manager Guim Roda said of Marino: “He already has the test rider job for KRT, so he will run at Aragon and keep collecting data to develop the bike in real race conditions.

"It’ll be a good way to see the rhythm he is able to get to as he will keep working in the winter months to test items at the very top level.”