Sam Lowes on fire at Moto2 test
Hard-charging Brit is back to his best and ready for more Surface problems
Sam Lowes kicked off his make-or-break year in Moto2 in the strongest way possible by dominating the first test of 2019. Riding in an unofficial test at Jerez, albeit with an admittedly incomplete grid, the Briton delivered not only absolute speed but knockout race pace as well. Knowing this could be his final year in the series if he suffers another year like 2018, Lowes is already in a better place than he was 12 months ago. Back with Gresini, a team he loves to work with after going completely unpaid in 2018, he’s already upbeat about the year’s potential.
And while he finished 0.10s clear of 2018 race winner Luca Marini on the time sheets, there was even better news for Lowes at Jerez when he was also faster over long runs than Marini was over a single flying lap. The Brit’s five best laps were all faster than Marini’s fastest overall. “I feel really good on the bike and with the team and we’ve been able to try many things,” he told MCN. “But, honestly, it’s just good to be back working in a normal way. It’s testing, but it’s testing properly. Little things like having technical meetings at the end of every day to discuss what worked and what didn’t is great and we didn’t do that at all last year. “It’s just all good at the minute. I had two more days on track without crashing, my pace is good and I’m just plugging away for now. It’s nice after a long winter to just get back on the bike and to get riding again!”
And with a reputation gained over the past two trying seasons as a crasher, making strong progress without a fall is also something for Lowes to celebrate. After struggling for confidence last season with his KTM’s WP suspension, a return to Kalex and Öhlins for 2019 has returned the feeling he’s been missing. Lowes is also aided by the addition of an auto-blipper on Triumph’s new 765cc engine which is helping him to make smoother gear changes, a factor that, due to his harsh style, caused a number of unforced crashes during 2018.
“I’m really happy with how I feel on the bike,” he continued. “I’ve got front feeling on corner entry I didn’t have all last season. In 2017 when I was in MotoGP I got on the Aprilia and thought ‘I’m f***ed’. I then got on the KTM Moto2 and thought ‘I’m quite f***ed’. But I got on the Kalex this year and thought ‘This feels mint!’”
Lowes will get his first chance to pit himself against the full lineup of 2019 opposition when the complete Moto2 grid heads to Jerez later this week. Jerez is having continuing problems with its surface, despite a second resurface in only two years. Following a new surface 12 months ago, record summer heat in southern Spain saw temperatures reach 50ºC ruining the asphalt. Relaid again for 2019, there have been multiple complaints from Moto2 & 3 riders about how hard the new surface is on new tyres.
‘It’s good to be back working in a normal way’