Round nine of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship truly got underway with a thrilling battle this afternoon as the Californian sun shone down on Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Alex Lowes took his Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK to a fantastic fifth place in the first race on American soil with Niccol Canepa scoring his third consecutive top-10 finish aboard the WorldSBK-spec YZF-R1.