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May 26
Love0

Round six of the 2021 Moto2 World Championship

By General Posts

Magnificent Mugello awaits Lowes and Fernandez.

Round six of the 2021 Moto2 World Championship takes Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Sam Lowes and Augusto Fernandez to the technically challenging Mugello track in Italy’s picturesque Tuscany region.

Lowes and Fernandez may not have come away with the results their pace deserved in Le Mans, but both arrive in Mugello eager to showcase their full potential in Sunday’s 21-lap Italian Grand Prix.

The pair completed a very constructive one-day test at the Circuit Barcelona-de Catalunya last week and are confident of a successful start to a busy run of four races taking part over the next five weeks leading into the long summer break.

37 – Augusto Fernandez
Fernandez is determined to convert his recent strong practice and qualifying form into a top result when he makes just his third Mugello appearance this weekend.

Mugello was the venue for the Spaniard’s World Championship debut in 2017 and on his most recent appearance in 2019 he enjoyed a fantastic race and finished less than two seconds off the podium in fifth.

“It’s an amazing but tricky track”

“I’m really looking forward to going to Mugello. I had a very good race there in 2019 but I am still lacking experience of this track. It’s an amazing but tricky track and I’ll need to play video games again because I haven’t done many laps there! It was a big shame to finish the race in Le Mans so early when it was clear we had a chance of a strong result. But we performed very well and understood many things about the bike during the test in Barcelona last week. I’m feeling confident with the bike, but it is important to finish this weekend after crashes in the last two races. I’m sure we can be competitive but to finish is key to regain some confidence and recover some points in the World Championship.”

22 – Sam Lowes
Mugello’s fast and flowing 5.4km track is the ideal place for Lowes to fire momentum back into his World Championship challenge after a fall out of podium contention in France.

The 30-year-old took his first front row in Mugello in 2014 and since then he’s scored two pole positions and five years ago, he was only one second away from a famous win in third position behind Johann Zarco and Lorenzo Baldassarri.

“We usually get close and exciting races in Mugello”

“Mugello is a track I really love, and it was very unfortunate we couldn’t race there in 2020. It’s like a second home race for me with so many of my family living in Italy. It is fast and flowing and one that I enjoy and usually we get some very close and exciting races. I’m really looking forward to it and after the disappointment of Le Mans it’s vital that we come away from Mugello with some decent points on the board. I’ve been fast at every track so far this year and there’s no reason for me not to be confident going into Mugello. I bring some good feelings into this weekend after the test in Barcelona went very well and I can’t wait to get started.”

May 02
Love0

Lowes fights back to third at the Spanish Grand Prix

By General Posts

After a tough start, Sam Lowes saved his best for last to claim his third podium finish from the opening four races of 2021, while Augusto Fernandez suffered an unfortunate early crash from third.

The Moto2 field had to navigate 23 laps of the Circuit of Jerez Angel Nieto in ambient temperatures of 21 degrees for the fourth round of 2021.

There were mixed fortunes for the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders in an outing that broke the previous Moto2 race record. Sam Lowes scored 16 important points for his world championship challenge, while Augusto Fernandez failed to finish.

Augusto Fernandez – DNF
The 23-year old enjoyed a brilliant start from seventh on the grid, and climbed four places in the first half a lap to sit a very strong third.

But Augusto’s race came to a frustrating end when he tucked the front at turn six on the third lap, a result that brings his first non-score of the 2021 season.

It means the rider from the Balearic Islands slips to ninth in the championship with 23 points.

“The positive thing is we have the speed again”

“A big shame! I made a great start. I was there and in the lead group. My pace was podium pace and I felt good. I did a 1’41.7s with a full tank on the second lap. I was third and thought it was time to relax so I could be strong at the end of the race. But I made a little mistake, coming into turn six hot with the brakes. With the full tank, the front closed immediately. I couldn’t do anything. The positive thing is we have the speed again. Also, we are constant in every practice at different tracks – the second weekend in Qatar, Portimao and here. I struggled a lot last year and now we’ve been competitive. We just have to manage the races better and know how to be at the front. I want to say sorry to the team. It was completely my mistake and now I’m already thinking about Le Mans.”

Sam Lowes – 3rd, +2.229 s.

The Briton didn’t enjoy an ideal getaway off the line, dropping from fifth to eighth by the first corner. Despite joining the back of a four-rider fight for second, Lowes didn’t feel comfortable in the race’s first half.

But the 30-year old maintained his cool and produced a late rally. He passed Remy Gardner for fourth on lap 20 and then took third from Raul Fernandez at turn two on the penultimate lap.

The result sees Lowes climb to second in the world championship with 66 points, and sits just 3 behind leader Remy Gardner.

“It’s really positive to be back on the podium”

“It was really important to get the race distance today after what happened in Portugal. We didn’t just miss out on scoring points, but we didn’t get any information for the race distance. Today I didn’t have the grip I expected in the race. But the conditions were like that. I was happy to have the speed at the end. It’s really positive to be back on the podium after Portugal. It has been another solid weekend. I want to thank the team for their help. Now we can look forward to Le Mans in a couple of weeks, where I have great memories. It’s where I scored my first win with this team!”

Aug 16
Love0

Moto2 : Fighting fourth place for Sam Lowes in Austria

By General Posts

Fighting fourth place for Sam Lowes in Austria

Sam Lowes continued his excellent run of results by scoring fourth place in a shortened race at the Red Bull Ring while Augusto Fernández fought hard to secure another strong finish in eighth.

The 25-lap Moto2 race was red flagged on lap four after a terrifying incident which included Enea Bastianini, Hafizh Syahrin, Edgar Pons and Andi Farid Izdihar.

It eventually started 40 minutes behind schedule in track temperatures of 44 degrees. In an action-packed ‘sprint race’, the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS riders Sam Lowes and Augusto Fernández scored important points by finishing in the top eight.

After a lengthy delay to attend to the riders and clean up the track, the Moto2 grid was reformed based on the order at the end of lap three of the original race. The restart was held over a reduced distance of 13 laps.

8th, + 9.598 s.

The three-time Moto2 race winner used the warm-up session to try a new chassis and rear suspension setting to improve the balance of the bike and immediately felt very comfortable. He set the seventh fastest time.

After recovering two places in the first race, Augusto lined up in tenth on the grid for the restart. Having worked on a perfect set-up for the race all weekend, the rider from the Balearic Islands couldn’t run his normal pace as he fought for seventh place.

In the end, Fernández couldn’t overtake Thomas Luthi on the final lap and finished eighth, 9.5 seconds behind the race winner.

Overall, it has been another positive weekend for Augusto. The eight points gained see Fernández remain in 13th place in the World Championship with 25 points to his name.

“We had good pace and could have had a really good race”

“It was a crazy race! It was a short race and everyone was pushing like it was the last lap. I’m not happy. We had good pace all weekend and could have had a really good race. But in the end, it wasn’t about pace. It was about fighting every lap and my good pace was for nothing. I didn’t manage to fight in a good way. I didn’t manage to win the battle in my group but anyway we have another race here next weekend. We’ll keep working as we have been doing and hopefully it will be a longer race weekend in which we can take advantage of our pace.”

4th, +7.249 s.

The Englishman began the restarted race from seventh on the grid. A difficult getaway and a fight with Aron Canet on lap two saw him lose time to the top three riders.

While fighting for fourth, a spectacular moment on the exit of turn one caused Sam to lose two places.

But the three-time Moto2 race winner fought until the end, overtaking Xavi Vierge for fourth place on the exit of the final corner.

It represented an excellent result for the Englishman, whose previous best result at the Red Bull Ring was 20th. The 13 points scored today mean he stays in fourth place in the World Championship, 19 points behind first place.

“I’m happy with the fourth place and 13 points”

“It was OK. When it’s a short race everybody pushes hard. I didn’t make the best start and I was in the group. It was one of those races that was fun to be involved in but I knew I was losing a lot of time. After the bad start and with the race being held over 13 laps I’m happy with the fourth place and 13 points. It’s another strong weekend for me and we got some good points. I know I’m stronger than that so I can look forward to next weekend.”

“We are very happy to have this fourth position with Sam and this eighth place with Augusto”

“First of all, I want to say we are very lucky after the first race and the incident that happened. Going into the second race it was very difficult with less laps and at a track where it is very easy to overtake in these hard-braking points. Anyway, we are very happy to have this fourth position with Sam and this eighth place with Augusto. We were fighting in the group and recovered points for the championship as well. We are sure next week we can finish even higher!”