Marc VDS’ Sam Lowes returns to his ‘second home’ for the second time in 2021 as Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli welcomes Moto2 once again this weekend.

A difficult weekend at COTA - which saw Lowes qualifying in 16th - ended prematurely as an unfortunate technical issue forced Lowes’ retirement in Austin. The disappointment of his Texas DNF, however, makes the Brit doubly determined to bounce back with a podium performance on Italy’s Adriatic Coast as he returns to a track he favours, and runs strongly at.

Lowes is currently locked in the battle for fourth position with his Elf Marc VDS Racing teammate Augusto Fernandez, with just nine points splitting the pair and three races remaining in 2021. While Fabio Di Giannantonio and Aron Canet hover narrowly adrift of the Spaniard too with 75 points still up for grabs.

Having qualified second and fought for the podium throughout, during last month’s opening Misano visit, and with a top-step rostrum visit already under his belt from 2020, Lowes is eager to return to the top three in San Marino for this weekend’s 25-lap race.

“I’m really looking forward to a quick return to Misano. I’ve said it before, but Italy is like a second home for me, and I really like this track,” Lowes said ahead of the Emilia Romagna GP.

“I had a good race there last month and managed to finish fourth and obviously the target for this weekend will be to do better than that and get back on the podium.

“Austin was a disappointment with the unfortunate technical issue but with three races to go I’m fully motivated to finish the season in the best way possible and I can’t wait to get started on Friday.”