Sam Lowes looked to be on for victory in the early stages of Sunday’s San Marino Moto2 GP before rear grip left the Marc VDS rider settling for fourth.
Starting strongly at his semi-home round at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Lowes launched from the front row before taking the lead before the opening lap had run its course.
With limited dry running thanks to rain across Friday and Saturday afternoon, the Brit was met with 27℃ temperatures for the 25-lap race before being immersed into a race-long fight with eventual winner, Raul Fernandez, Aron Canet and Remy Gardner. Despite dropping to fourth on lap 17, Lowes continued to fight, posting his fastest time of the race on lap 19 and crossing the line just 1.5s behind the race winner.
“I’m happy with that race” Lowes said after the race. “I was good in the first laps but then struggled a bit for rear grip, it wasn’t the same as in warm-up. But I could see the other guys struggling, too.
“Overall, I’m really happy after last week. It was really important to finish the race but now we can be positive and we go to Texas – a track that I like.
“We lacked a bit of dry track time this weekend and I honestly thought I was missing in pace so it felt good to be only 1.5s behind the winner. It feels like I can take the positives and go to the next one in a good way.
“I want to say thank you to the team because they improved the bike when stopping in neutral corners. It was nice to be in Misano and to see all the fans again. We’ll keep working to get back on that podium – it’s getting closer!”
