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MotoGP Aragon: 'I did not expect to fight for the World Championship this year' – Lowes

Sam Lowes’ spectacular run of form saw the Brit secure a second successive victory at Motorland Aragon after a dramatic Moto2 contest placed the Marc VDS rider on the rostrum for the fourth time in as many races.

The 11th round of the 2020 season began with a three-rider fight at the front, as pole-sitter Lowes repeatedly battled Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio for the lead of the 21-lap race.

Bezzecchi initially gained the advantage from Lowes with Di Giannantonio behind in third before the Speed Up rider took over control at the end of lap 10. The elation was short-lived, however, as the Italian succumbed almost immediately, crashing out just four corners later as turn two claimed another victim.

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Careful to remain calm while applying relentless pressure, Lowes pursued Bezzecchi in a tense battle before the VR46 rider also fell at the same corner on the penultimate lap, leaving Lowes to take his second win of 2020 by 4.1 seconds.

The result provided further celebration for the 30-year old with his fourth consecutive podium - the first time a British rider has achieved this in Grand Prix racing’s intermediate class since Rodney Gould in 1972! - along with the first British back-to-back win in Moto2 since Scott Redding in 2013.

Lowes’ victory, along with an early crash from Luca Marini, sees him climb firmly into contention of the World Championship title with his 153 point tally, now just 2 behind new leader Enea Bastianini.

“Obviously it’s a great feeling to win. The pace of Bezzecchi was really, really strong. I think every lap he was pulling a couple of tenths in turn two against me so I was losing out, his pace was better than mine but in turn two he was so, so strong and in the end it caught him out," aid Lowes, speaking at the track.

"I was having to be really careful not to get drawn into it to try and match him through the first sector. The first and last sector he was a lot stronger than me and then in the middle lap we were similar.

"I didn’t feel quite as strong as I did yesterday so I was happy to take second and I just kept the pressure on, kept my rhythm and then in the end, unfortunately for him, he made a mistake.

“On the right side of the tyre here you really have to be a bit smart and I’ve learnt a lot with mistakes in the past so it’s nice to have the results in the last two difficult races - cold on the right side here today, no mistakes, Le Mans, difficult, no mistakes. It’s going good at the minute, I’m loving it and of course very happy to win.

I’ve had a couple of mistakes this weekend, one Friday, one Saturday morning, and it was playing on my mind a little bit towards the end of the race, seeing the guys have, I won’t say strange crashes but they didn’t look like they did a lot wrong, so I was thinking ‘just keep it on two wheels and bring the points’. Back-to-back wins is great, it’s been a long time - my Supersport days - since that’s happened so I’m really happy.

“If you remember in between the two Misano races they brought a softer tyre, I think that’s the same plan from Dunlop for next week so there will be another rear tyre in the mix.

"I believe it could be a little bit soft for the race so it could be a gamble and the lap times will be fast so it’s nice when you have back-to-back races to throw something else in the mix.

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"I feel great, I actually, honestly, didn’t feel amazing in the race, I wasn’t quite as strong as I was yesterday so I still have some things to improve - on a couple of corners my line was not perfect, I learnt a lot from following, so we can watch this race, improve some bits and we just need to keep approaching it the same, session-by-session, weekend-by-weekend but I’m really proud of myself and how we’re doing and I think I can improve for next weekend.

“I think the championship is real tight now, there’s four to go so it’s all to play for and I’m just really happy to be in the fight for it. After missing the first race in Qatar, I’ve come back strong and I’m in the mix.

"I did not expect to fight for the World Championship this year but I’m here, I’m fighting, I’m proving I can do it. It’s the first time in my Moto2 career I’ve had four podiums in a row and had back-to-back wins. It’s a really good moment for me. I just need to keep this momentum.

"The team are doing a fantastic job. Now we just need to be smart race-by-race and take good points. I’m really happy with how it’s going and I’m looking forward to Aragon 2.”

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