SAM LOWES’ TOP 5 RIVALS

Having competed in the Moto2 class for five years, Lowes has seen the competition come and go and with so much at stake in terms of riders wanting to graduate to MotoGP, the 2020 season looks set to be one of his toughest yet.

Lowes picks his top five rivals for the year ahead…

1. TOM LUTHI

Team: Liqui Moly Intact

GP Age: 33, SUI

Moto2 Races: 154 Podiums: 53 Wins: 12

Poles: 7

2019 championship position: 3rd

Lowes says: “Always consistent, Tom has great experience in Moto2 and always puts together a strong season. He has a good team behind him and with it being his second season back in the class, I have no doubt that he’ll be fighting at the front once again.”

2. LUCA MARINI

Team: SKY Racing Team

VR46

Age: 22 ITA

Moto2 Races: 62 Podiums: 9 Wins: 3

Poles: 3

2019 championship position: 6th

Lowes says: “Luca won races last season after getting up to speed with the new Triumph engine. Once he’d adapted to the bike, he put a nice run together and continued to build over the course of the season. He’s also got a great team, and a halfbrother who’s not bad, so he’ll be there this year.”

3. AUGUSTO FERNANDEZ

Team: EG 0,0 Marc VDS Age: 22, ESP

Moto2 Races: 42 Podiums: 5 Wins: 3

Poles: 1

2019 championship position: 5th

Lowes says: “Fernandez won three races in 2019 after being injured at the start of the year. He’s young, hungry and has room to improve this year. He’s in the championshipwinning team from last season so he’ll feel good heading to Qatar.”

4. JORGE MARTIN

Team: Red Bull KTM

Ajo Age: 22, ESP

Moto2 Races: 19 Podiums: 2 Wins: 1

Poles: 0

2019 championship position: 11th Lowes says:

“Martin has raw speed, he’s very fast. It’s his second year in Moto2 so he’ll take a step forward this year. He’s in a competitive team with a good record in our class.”

5. JORGE NAVARRO

Team: Speed Up Racing

Age: 24, ESP

Moto2 Races: 54 Podiums: 8 Wins: 0

Poles: 4

2019 championship position: 4th

Lowes says: “Navarro took a great step forward in 2019 and enjoyed a very solid season. He’s already been very fast in testing this year too. Being on the Speed Up could go either way, sometimes it might go against him, other times it could be a positive thing.”