2022 kicked off, albeit briefly, for Sam Lowes at Jerez on Monday as Elf Marc VDS joined Dunlop for a private test.

Poor weather prevented much action at the Andalucian circuit on Sunday as the Moto2 and Moto3 teams prepared for three days of private testing, with Lowes and new teammate Tony Arbolino heading out as part of Dunlop’s one-day tyre test on Monday morning.

Still in considerable pain from the right foot injury he suffered during FP1 at Valencia’s final round earlier this month, Lowes limited his time on track, calling it a day earlier than planned but with a full recovery firmly on his mind.

“We weren’t able to complete as many laps as I’d hoped coming into this test, but my foot was more painful than I expected,” the 31-year-old admitted on Monday afternoon.

“On a race weekend there’s not much time to think about an injury and the adrenaline always helps block out the pain but at a test there’s more time to think and my foot felt quite sore. Track conditions weren’t fantastic, and I didn’t feel like I was able to push at my limit to give Dunlop the correct information and feedback required, so it was the right decision to stop and begin the recovery in the winter.

"It’s still been a positive test from the perspective of meeting some new members in the team and sharing some time with Tony. The atmosphere is really good between everybody and that’s a great way to go into the winter break so I can focus on being strong when we get going again in 2022.”

Arbolino enjoyed a busy but positive final day on track in 2021 while assessing a range of tyres for Dunlop and acquainting himself with his new crew for next season. The Italian admitted to being ‘a bit tired’ at the close of his rookie season, after completing 96 laps of the 4.4km track but openly confident, confirming “already I feel like in this team we can achieve great results in 2022.”