Moto2 Qatar test D3: Sam Lowes sets the tone, followed by Marco Bezzecchi

De Diana Tamantini / Corsedimoto.com

Sam Lowes (Kalex, Elf Marc VDS, #22) was the fastest of the three days of Moto2 testing in Qatar. The British rider is a few hundredths ahead of Marco Bezzecchi (Kalex, SKY Racing Team VR46, #72) and Remy Gardner (Kalex, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #87).

The Moto2 tests at Losail ended under the influence of Sam Lowes. The Briton from the Elf Marc VDS Racing team moved to the top of the standings thanks to a 1'58.655 recorded during the last session this Sunday. Very tight ranking, starting with Marco Bezzecchi et Remy gardner, which follow #22 by a few hundredths. For a comparison in terms of time, the 2020 test ended with a 1'58.520 set by Jorge Navarro. The best lap in the race is 1'58.711 (Thomas Lüthi, 2019), the overall record is 1'58.136 (Joe Roberts, 2020), while the best time in the 2020 GP is 1'59.218 by Tetsuta Nagashima. In a few days, the serious things will begin: Friday, there will be free practice before the inaugural GP.

First session
Once again, this first session of the day turns out to count absolutely for nothing. Only the rookie Barry Baltus (NTS, NTS RW Racing GP, #70) did a few laps, everyone else preferred to preserve the little mileage at their disposal for the next two sessions. For the NTS RW Racing GP driver, this is the best personal time recorded so far over these three days on the Losail circuit (2'03.0 on the first day, 2'02.8 on the second day).

Second session
Much more activity in the second session of the day, with all drivers in action. For the first time, Marcel Schrötter (Kalex, Liqui Moly Intact GP, #23) stands out, with a best personal time ahead of the Italian Marco Bezzecchi. Also note the presence of Jake dixon (Kalex, Petronas Sprinta Racing, #96), still recovering, in third position, as well as that of the new American from Italtrans Joe Roberts (Kalex, Italtrans Racing Team, #16) just behind, or that of the best rookie 2020 Aron Canet (Boscoscuro, Aspar team, #44) in fifth position and not far behind. The best rookie of the session is Cameron Beaubier (Kalex, American Racing, #6), 13th, nine tenths behind the leading driver.

Third session
Following the scenario of the previous two days, the best times are observed during the last session. It is in particular Sam Lowes who pulls out all the stops: the Briton achieves the best time of the day, 13 thousandths ahead Marco Bezzecchi, and 48 ahead Remy Gardner. Once again, a particularly tight ranking in this category, with 19 drivers in less than a second. The best rookie is Raul Fernandez (Kalex, Red Bull KTM Ajo, #25), 8th, three tenths from the lead.