Sam Lowes recovered from two Long Lap Penalties in Saturday’s first WorldSBK race at the Balaton Park Circuit to secure good points for 9^th place.

Sam Lowes had an eventful day in Hungary as he continued to show strong speed in FP3 before qualifying in 7^th place in Superpole.

Although he was penalised for jumping the start in Race 1, Sam fought back from 18^th place to finish a highly credible 9^th.

^{// SAM LOWES: Superpole: 7th. Race 1: 9th}

Hopes were high entering Superpole after Sam continued his strong Friday performance in FP3, when he posted the 5^th fastest time.

The Briton was ultimately left frustrated in the qualifying session as he was held up by other riders on his final flying lap, which meant he was unable to improve on his best lap of 1’38.938, set at the start of his first run.

Keen to get a strong getaway from 7^th, Sam was judged to have jumped the start at the beginning of Race 1, which meant he was soon handed a double Long Lap Penalty.

While he graciously accepted his bike had moved before the red lights went out, the 35-year old didn’t enjoy a great getaway, and found himself back in 11^th at the close of lap 1.

Sam’s situation looked difficult when he completed his second Long Lap on lap 4. Back in 18^th, he had plenty of work to do. Despite struggling in the 4.075km track’s second sector, he dug in, and started making up places.

A series of strong, consistent laps meant Sam was on the cusp of the top ten with five laps to go. Two late moves on Tarran Mackenzie and Xavi Vierge ensured he gained nine places to finish 9^th.

“I was able to dig in, fight and pass many riders to get a top ten”

“Obviously I’m disappointed with the race. I want to apologise to the team because making a jump start isn’t acceptable. It was a strange one. The bike rolled forward but I didn’t actually jump the start or get an advantage – I had a terrible start compared to my grid position. That wasn’t good. It’s a difficult track to overtake on. For much of the lap there is only one line. Luckily, I was able to dig in, fight and pass many riders to get a top ten. A ninth place with two Long Lap Penalties is not a disaster. I enjoyed the race. We can improve tomorrow. I’m really struggling in Sector 2, honestly. In the two fast right corners – Turns 7 and 8 – I’m losing time, which is weird as that type of corner normally suits my riding style. I noticed compared to many riders I was quite slow there. We’ll try to work on that for tomorrow. Again, sorry to the team. But we did a good damage limitation job and tomorrow we’ll aim to finish higher up.”