Tony Arbolino gained eight places in the early laps to finish a fine second place at the Italian GP. Unfortunately,  Sam Lowes was taken out of the podium fight by another rider on the first lap.

• After cloudy conditions with a constant threat of rain on Saturday, Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Sam Lowes and Tony Arbolino enjoyed sunny skies and track temperatures of 45 degrees on race day.
• A strong crowd turned out to watch Round 6 of the Moto2 World Championship, with 77,921 people in attendance at the fabulous Mugello circuit on Sunday.
• Tony’s fifth podium in six races in 2023 is enough for the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team to continue leading the Moto2 Team’s Championship by 37 points.

/// SAM LOWES, DNF

• Starting from his third successive front row placing, Sam got a great launch into Turn 1 and slotted straight into second, just behind pole sitter Pedro Acosta.
• But the Briton’s race came to a crushingly unfortunate end as he was taken out by Alonso Lopez at Turn 11 as the Spaniard tried an overly-ambitious overtake on the first lap.
• Despite scoring no points, Sam can take heart from the fact he had the rhythm to score at least a podium for the third race weekend in succession.

“It’s frustrating and difficult”

“Of course, this is very disappointing. We lost a little bit on Friday because I didn’t feel good. But the team did a good job yesterday and we improved the bike a lot. I also improved my riding a lot. Pedro did very well all weekend but I felt like I had the potential to battle with him today, which would have been nice. I’m just happy for the team that Tony could get a good result. This is important as well. It’s frustrating and difficult. Sometimes we have a big build up hoping for a big result during the weekend and then something like this happens. It’s better not to say too much at the moment but this is difficult to take. Anyway, we’ll go to the Sachsenring next week. Luckily, I feel OK. My shoulder is a little bit sore after the crash but I think it won’t be a problem.”

/// TONY ARBOLINO, 2^nd

• Tony made his now customary great start from tenth on the grid, and gained 6 places on the first lap alone. By the third lap, the 22-year old had climbed to 2^nd after a sensational early push.
• Having struggled with a lack of front-end feel all weekend, Tony was able to ride with greater confidence in the 19-lap race and gradually pulled clear of 3^rd to finish 2^nd, 6.1s back of race winner Pedro Acosta.
• Tony’s 20-point haul maintains a healthy championship lead. He now has 119 points to his name, 20 more than second placed Acosta.

“My effort was at 100% from the first lap to the end”

“It was not easy at all to get this result. My effort was at 100% from the first lap to the end and I felt I did more than what I’m capable of doing. But I feel confident with myself at the moment. It was amazing to celebrate that result with the fans. It was incredible because many of them came from my town and I’m delighted for that. I’m also so happy with the way the team is working. They always do the maximum that’s possible, it’s pretty much perfect. I feel lucky because I have an amazing group around me. That’s the most important thing. We’ll keep going like that, check where we need to improve and see what we can do at the next races!”