Sam Lowes Strikes in Phillip Island with Yamaha

Yakhnich Yamaha teammate Vladimir Leonov had an unfortunate start to his season, the Russian lucky to escape with only an elbow injury after coming off in the high-speed final corner, turn 12, on the third lap of the race when a rival fell in front of him. The race had been reduced to 15laps after safety concerns on tyre life.

The Championship will move next to the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain for round two on the 14th April.

Sam Lowes, 2nd - +1.899secs

“Sofuoglu restrained me during the whole race, forcing me to cover the gas. He knew that if I could overtake him he couldn’t win. It's a great start to the season, the bike is great and the team are working really well so I believe we can fight for the win!”

Vladimir Leonov, DNF

“I had no luck in Phillip Island. During the morning warm up my bike was very fast but from the beginning of the race I was in traffic. De Rosa fell in front of me in a fast turn and I had no room to move so there was no chance to avoid a collision. We will go to Aragon and continue our work.”

Claudio Corsetti, General Manager, Yakhnich Yamaha Motorsport

“We have two fast riders, Sam is very hard and goal-seeking. He dominated the whole weekend and tried to win from the start. Sofuoglu has admitted he has only one rival, Sam Lowes! I am upset for Vladimir as he could have been in the top five, but we go to Aragon knowing we can fight for the Championship title.”

Race Results -

1. Kenan Sofuoglu TUR Mahi India Kawasaki ZX-6R 23m 32.480s

2. Sam Lowes GBR Yakhnich Yamaha YZF-R6 +1.899s

3. Michael van der Mark NED Pata Honda CBR600RR +6.771s

4. Fabien Foret FRA Mahi India Kawasaki ZX-6R +11.095s

5. David Salom ESP Intermoto PonyExpres Kawasaki ZX-6R +12.076s

6. Luca Scassa ITA Intermoto PonyExpres Kawasaki ZX-6R +12.943s

7. Andrea Antonelli ITA Go Eleven Kawasaki ZX-6R +23.968s

8. Lorenzo Zanetti ITA Pata Honda CBR600RR +24.536s

9. Massimo Roccoli ITA Pata by Martini Yamaha YZF-R6 +24.782s

10. Jack Kennedy IRL RivaMoto Honda CBR600RR +24.809s

11. Vladimir Ivanov RUS DMC Lorenzini Kawasaki ZX-6R +32.825s

12. Luca Marconi ITA PTR Honda CBR600RR +33.028s

13. Roberto Tamburini ITA Suriano Suzuki GSX-R600 +33.065s

14. Mathew Scholtz RSA Suriano Suzuki GSX-R600 +34.067s

15. Alex Baldolini ITA Lorini Honda CBR600RR +34.993s

16. Mitchell Carr AUS AARK Triumph Daytona 675 +38.271s

17. Josh Hook AUS Team Honda CBR600RR +43.352s

18. Kev Coghlan RUS DMC Lorenzini Kawasaki ZX-6R +45.430s

19. Nacho Calero Perez ESP PTR Honda CBR600RR +48.398s

20. Matt Davies AUS PTR Honda CBR600RR +51.343s

21. Christian Iddon GBR ParkinGO MV Agusta F3 +52.541s

22. Imre Toth HUN Team Toth Honda CBR600RR +53.273s

23. Eduard Blokhin RUS RivaMoto Honda CBR600RR +1m 30.957s

24. Sherian Morais RSA PTR Honda CBR600RR +4 laps

Not Classified

25. Roberto Rolfo ITA ParkinGO MV Agusta F3 13 laps completed

26. Dino Lombardi ITA Pata by Martini Yamaha YZF-R6 12 laps completed

27. Kevin Curtain AUS Yamaha Racing YZF-R6 4 laps completed

28. David Linortner AUT PTR Honda CBR600RR 3 laps completed

29. Raffaele de Rosa ITA Lorini Honda CBR600RR 2 laps completed

30. Vladimir Leonov RUS Yakhnich Yamaha YZF-R6 2 laps completed

31. Fabio Menghi ITA VFT Yamaha YZF-R6 2 laps completed

32. Luca Salvadori ITA Pata by Martini Yamaha YZF-R6 1 lap completed

33. Alex Schacht DEN Team Toth Honda CBR600RR 1 lap completed

Source www.yamaha-racing.com