Brits ready to battle at the front
■ Experienced 30-year-old Brit will start 2021 as one of the Moto2 title favourites
Cal might have gone from MotoGP but Lowes, Dixon and McPhee are all race wins waiting to happen
There’s no lack of intent from Sam Lowes as he kicks off his bid to become Moto2 top dog in 2021. The former British and World Superport champ knows how to win series and, having found his happy place within the multiple-title-winning Marc VDS squad in 2020, it’s game-on in 2021. Last year Lowes turned around a career that appeared to be slipping away by running at the front of Moto2, securing poles, winning races, and taking the title down to the final round. It’s a turnaround he attributes to the quality and inner workings of his Marc VDS team.
“It’s all about the support I get which meant I could do things more consistently. Look at Bastianini winning last year, he’s like Morbidelli, their character is so flat line. When they win they are happy, but when they don’t they are not suicidal. They keep things in balance and that’s also what you need from a team. When I was with Gresini if I topped a session everyone was happy and the sun was out, but as soon as we had a bad session we’d start chasing it and changing the bike. At Marc VDS there is no knee-jerk reaction, they make a plan and they stick to it.
“Last year throughout winter my only goal was to be competitive. I didn’t put any numbers on it, I just wanted to be at the front, fighting for the important results. Now with the year I had and the team I’m in, the focus is on where I was weak and how can I polish those bits and keep everything else the same. It’s a different attitude and from a testing point of view I don’t need to see my name at the top of the time sheets.” But while outright speed has never been a problem for Lowes, consistency sometimes has. “Now it’s time to do my job, work hard, get points in the early races and give ourselves something to work on. When you’re feeling good and everything is right you have to win, but it’s the bad days that really count. Finishing sixth, seventh or eighth rather than leaving with nothing, that’s what I need to work on.”
‘It’s time to get some points on the board’