LOWES LOOKS READY TO WIN
Brit is back in top five after burying demons
Sam Lowes believes he’s ready to return to winning ways in Moto2 and is keen to build on a strong fifth position at the German GP and return to where he left off before making an ill-fated move to MotoGP with Aprilia last year. Running a strong race on Sunday before making a last-corner pass on home favourite Marcel Schrotter for fifth, the Brit seems to have fixed the mental bock that had been holding him back.
It hasn’t been an easy two years for Lowes after having to deal with not only the blow to his confidence of the disastrous year with Aprilia and their premature end to his two-year deal but also the metaphorical ‘kicking’ he took when Johann Zarco knocked him out of the lead of his home race at Silverstone halfway through 2016.
But he’s now happy in the Swiss Innovative Investors KTM team and, surrounded by a crew that’s fully behind the 27-yearold, Lowes is now planning on building on Sunday’s strong performance over the second half of the season.
“I had the same pace as the leaders all weekend,” he told MCN. “But I just couldn’t find the grip in the same way as them on Sunday. We also need to find a way to improve my top speed because I get drilled there. But overall it’s the third weekend in a row now with no mistakes or crashes and that’s a big improvement and is due to the new forks we were given. “Having that confidence also means that I can play with the bike more, and with that comes the results. Sachsenring isn’t a good track for me so it’s nice to get a good result there and taking a place on the last corner is always nice. We’re not far away now. Binder did a good job to win but it’s not that long since he was finishing fifth and sixth so I’m sure that we can now do what he’s done.”
Lowes’ improved results have brought positive interest from a whole host of teams as he aims to secure his Moto2 future. Current boss Fred Corminboeuf has made it clear to MCN that he wants Lowes to stay, with the man who took Tom Luthi to the runner-up spot twice describing the Brit as the best rider he’s ever worked with. But the Briton is believed to also have offers on the table from a number of other top-level Moto2 teams.