Elf Marc VDS’ Sam Lowes returned to Moto2 action at Motegi on Friday after fracturing his shoulder at the BritishGP.

Taking a tentative approach to the sole Friday practice, Lowes used the 40-minute session to recover his feelings and test his strength on the Kalex machine, while trialing the Dunlop tyre options available for the Japanese Grand Prix.

His 1’53.122 best, set on his 13th of 15 lap around the 4.8km Mobility Resort circuit placed him 26th in the standings at the close of play.

“It’s really nice to get going again," Lowes said from Motegi on Friday evening. “Obviously, the injury is still causing me some issues but I expected it to be worse. I just need to understand that this weekend is going to be about building myself back up. We just had the one session today, which was not a lot.

“I need more laps to regain the confidence as it’s been a long time since I’ve ridden the bike but I was riding with a smile because it was really nice to be back out there.

“I just want to thank the team as they did a great job during the night after everything that happened. I’m looking forward to keep building from here.”