Tony Arbolino rallied from a tough start to the race to score important points for tenth, while Sam Lowes suffered an unfortunate crash three laps from the chequered flag.

• The ninth round of the 2022 Moto2 season presented a unique challenge to Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Sam Lowes and Tony Arbolino. Asphalt which has low grip levels coupled with track temperatures of 50 degrees meant this was a race where tyre conservation was key over 22 laps.

/// SAM LOWES, DNF

• The Briton had a tough start from sixth on the grid, and dropped to tenth on the first lap.
• But the 31-year old soon found his rhythm. From lap 14, he was running the same pace as the leaders and moved past Ai Ogura for seventh place a lap later.
• Lowes then suffered an unfortunate crash at turn 12 on the 20^th lap. The result leaves Lowes on 35 points in the World Championship.

“I lost the front with three laps to go”

“The team did a good job this weekend. I’m sorry for the mistake as we needed to finish. But I lost the front with three laps to go. It’s a shame and after the unlucky races when other people have taken me down, this sure doesn’t help today. We can be positive about the pace we have. I will keep working to find a good way out of this bad run of races.”

/// TONY ARBOLINO, 10^th

• After struggling for front end feel all weekend, a crucial set-up change after morning warm-up gave Tony greater speed in the race.
• The 21-year old was given a Long Lap Penalty for an advantage gained for taking a shortcut at turn two. When he served the penalty on lap 7, he dropped from 13^th to 15^th.
• But Tony recovered places in the race’s second half to finish tenth at the chequered flag. He stays fifth in the World Championship standings with 89 points, 44 back of leader Celestino Vietti.

“I’m quite happy with the pace I showed today”

“Honestly, it was tough. This weekend hasn’t been great. But I’m quite happy with the pace I showed today. We made a small change after warm-up which helped me a lot to have quicker rhythm in the race. I want to keep going and keep working. Let’s see now what we can do. We have a test in Aragon in two days which can help us improve our feeling and arrive at the Sachsenring with a good mentality and a good feeling. But I’m happy. I want to thank my crew. They worked in every session and after every FP. I appreciate that a lot so let’s keep going and I can’t wait to jump back on the podium soon!”