First taste of Superbike success for Moira’s Ian Lowry

FORMER Chef from Moira, Ian Lowry proved to all on Sunday at Thruxton Race Circuit that his Rookie year in British Superbikes was not just a fluke and finally his persistence and strive to remain in British Superbikes paid dividend when he swooped to his first ever MCE British Superbike win, much to the delight of Clive Padgett, owner of the Padgett’s Honda team who took a gamble when they signed Lowry in November after a couple of years where he was somewhat out in the wilderness.

Lowry was in a confident mood from the off at the historic Thruxton Circuit for round two of the MCE British Superbike Championship. He was determined to build upon his fourth place at Brands over Easter Weekend and was keen to continue his form, which he did in style in race one of the Superbike race taking a fantastic debut Superbike win on the Padgett’s Honda.

Having been running well throughout the weekend in both dry and wet conditions he set down the marker to state that he was eager to gain his first ever podium place in the British Superbike Championship, he did more than that and in style he grabbed a stunning race win over the 20-lap race and won by 2.7 seconds from his nearest rival Tommy Hill. Lowry rode a calculated race, conserving his Pirelli tyres and sitting comfortably behind Tommy Hill for the first half of the race; before making a strong pass into Allard and was leading his first Superbike race. He soon got his head down and bridged a gap between himself and Tommy and took the win.

In the second race Ian got a good start and was second out of turn one but dropped to third after the opening lap. Despite using the same compound tyre in race two he struggled for grip during the race and dropped back to fifth, instead of pushing too hard and making a mistake he settled for fifth position and took the lead in the overall British Superbike Championship.

Lowry said afterwards: “I’m absolutely over the moon with the first race result, everything just went right and the Padgett’s Honda team were perfect. I knew I had the pace to run near the front this weekend and everything in the first race just went according to plan and it was mint.

“I just followed Tommy and wanted to see where he was struggling. I knew I had to make a break and made a clean pass on him for the lead. It was important to keep focused and not lose concentration it made things easier knowing I had managed to pull a small gap and I didn’t need to do anything stupid and throw away the win. The bike and team were perfect it was just awesome,” said Ian.

“I was a little unsettled in the second race for the first opening laps and maybe that was because I’d put a bit of pressure on myself. I made a few mistakes at the start and I knew I needed to settle down, get my head straight and get into a rhythm, by which point the front runners had made a break at the front.

“I knew my lap-times were good but I just wasn’t able to catch the leaders and make a pass. I had a few issues with grip and a couple of times I thought I was going down but I just knew I had to settle down and take the fifth place. I’m now leading the British Championship and it’s a position I’ve never been in before but it’s a mega feeling. I can’t wait for Oulton in a few weeks. I would just like to thank everyone who has had the faith in me this year and hope I can continue to prove myself and ride well.”

Lowry is now heading to Oulton Park in a few weeks time for the Bank holiday Monday meeting with the prospects of three races, with the postponed Brands Hatch race being rescheduled for the weekend of May 5 to 7, leading the MCE British Superbike Championship for the first time ever by two points ahead of Josh Brookes.