Alex Lowes will ‘try to race’ in Jerez WorldSBK despite fractured hand
Kawasaki man Alex Lowes is the first of the three hospitalised British WorldSBK riders to confirm they will race in Jerez despite a fractured hand
Alex Lowes has revealed he suffered a fracture in his hand following an accident during the final WorldSBK race in Barcelona, but will attempt to compete in Jerez this weekend.
The Kawasaki man was one of three British riders - together with Tom Sykes and Chaz Davies - needing hospital treatment on Sunday after separate damaging accidents around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Lowes fell at the start of Race 2 after getting tangled up in the typical first corner funnell, the two-time WorldSBK race winner proceeding to get clattered by his own bike as he came down before being ridden over for good measure by the unsighted Lachlan Epis.
LIGHTS OUT FOR #WorldSBK RACE 2
Early drama in turn 1, @alexlowes22 crashes!#CatalanWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/GNs7YBOHsi— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) September 19, 2021
Despite the battering incident Lowes largely escaped without major injury, but a painful hand and wrist necessitated a trip to hospital.
There he was diagnosed with a fracture in his hand but while Lowes says he is contending with that and a painful neck, it is his intention to compete this weekend.
“After the Barcelona weekend and getting taken out of that last race it was quite messy, with a lot of bikes around. I got clipped by another rider and luckily I got away relatively unscathed from the crash. I have fractured my hand but otherwise I feel quite good.
“I feel like I can try and ride at Jerez. My neck is a little bit stiff but I will work hard on my recovery these next three days, with Albert our physio, and be in a position to try to ride. It is not an ideal situation but I will go to Jerez and the plan is to try to ride.”
Though Lowes has green lit his participation this weekend, it appears unlikely that Sykes - who suffered a ‘severe concussion’ - or Chaz Davies with two broken ribs will race.
Neither team has confirmed their status as yet, though BMW is expected to place Eugene Laverty on the M 1000 RR alongside Michael van der Mark.
