At the end of a thrilling race, Sam Lowes took his third victory of the season while Augusto Fernández made a superb comeback to take second place at the exit of the last corner!
- After a weekend marked by rain and cold, blue skies and a temperature of 20 degrees accompanied the drivers to the Marco Simoncelli international circuit in Misano for the sixteenth race of the season.
- The day was magnificent for the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team. Sam Lowes won his first race since April and Augusto Fernández claimed second place to give the team their first 2-2017 finish in the MotoXNUMX class since the XNUMX Austrian GP.
- After the team secured its 50th Moto2 pole position on Saturday, it is the seventh time in Moto2 history that Marc VDS riders have finished 1st and 2nd in the same race. The 2013 French GP, the 2014 Qatar, Czech, British and San Marino GPs as well as the 2017 Austrian GP were the previous occasions.
Sam Lowes:
- After claiming his 17th pole position on Saturday, a Moto2 class record, Lowes found himself involved in a fierce early race battle with Arón Canet.
- The Briton lost the lead to Raúl Fernández on lap 14 before making a mistake at turn 8 four laps later, allowing Canet to get back in front.
- But Lowes managed to increase the pace in the final laps to regain the lead from Canet on lap 22 thanks to a brilliant maneuver at turn 2. He crossed the finish line 1,2 seconds ahead of his teammate.
- With his third victory of the season and his fourth podium, Lowes maintains his fourth place in the world championship, with 165 points.
“I am really happy with this result which comes at the right time after several races where I had good potential which I was not able to realize on Sunday. It's really important to finish well this year to continue this momentum next season. Getting the victory after starting from pole position really made me happy. Every time I rode slicks this weekend I felt good. We took a bit of a risk with the tender at the front. In the last laps I was at the limit because I had never done more than ten laps with this tire all season! It was like being in unknown territory. But the conditions this weekend were complicated for everyone. No one had the perfect package because no one had really ridden with the soft rear tire yet. It was the right choice and in the first 15 rounds it was the safest option. It gave me confidence, I was able to control the race at the end. The team did an excellent job. They made the most of a difficult weekend and made the right choices. Thanks to them for their constant support. It's nice to bounce back with a win after the tough race in Austin. We will now try to end the year in the best way. »
Augusto Fernández:
- While he had secured third place on the starting grid, Augusto Fernández was penalized with a “long lap penalty” which he took on the second lap, thus moving from 4th to 14th place.
- From there, the Spaniard chained fast laps to move up the rankings. He even set the fastest lap in the race on the twentieth pass in front of the pits.
- Fernandez
- fought his way up to 3rd on the final lap before making a magnificent pass on Arón Canet, out of gas, on the final corner to take 2nd place, his best result since September 2019.
- By reaching the podium for the fifth time this year, Augusto consolidates his fifth place in the championship with 151 points.
" I had fun ! This race was pleasant but also difficult. Despite my penalty, I always believed it was possible to do something like this. I felt good all weekend in all conditions. I did my “long lap” at the beginning. I had the mentality to come back from 14th or 15th place, as I had done in Aragón. I focused on my riding and my pace and started passing riders one by one. At the end, I lost a little time with (Celestino) Vietti. I had to wait three or four laps behind him, otherwise I might have been able to fight in the last laps at the front with Sam and Arón. Regardless, to be on the podium after the penalty is incredible. I am very, very happy! »
