The first day of running of the 2022 Moto2 World Championship at the Lusail International Circuit led to positive results for Elf Racing Marc VDS duo Tony Arbolino and Sam Lowes eleventh and twelfth respectively.

• The 2022 Moto2 season kicked off on Friday at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar with Elf Racing Marc VDS riders Tony Arbolino and Sam Lowes tackling two sessions as they get up to speed aboard their 2022 machines.
• Both riders were competitive while fine tuning their set-ups, ending both FP1 and FP2 inside the top twelve places. At the close of the day both men were inside the all-important top 14. Arbolino was eleventh fastest, with Lowes twelfth.

/// SAM LOWES:

• After suffering from a tendonitis issue in his left wrist during preseason, the Englishman was keen to put it to the test around one of his favourite circuits. Considering that, Lowes was fast, ending FP1 in tenth and FP2 twelfth with a best lap time of 1’59.882.
• Lowes and his highly experienced team spent the afternoon working on gearbox ratios – new from engine supplier Triumph for 2022 – in a bid to find an ideal set-up for Sunday’s 20-lap race.

“We’re missing a little bit”

“These have been a complicated few weeks for me so it was nice to finally get on track and get some laps in. This is a track that I love so it’s always fun to ride here. We’ve been working a lot with the gearing because the new gearbox we have for 2022 is obviously new for everybody. We’ve been trying to work with a few different ratios in the track time we had. I feel not too bad. Of course, we’re missing a little bit. We had two directions with the gearing today so maybe somewhere in the middle is where we need to go. It felt like finally we’ve got a day to build on after the last few weeks. I’ll get some treatment on the wrist tonight and then try to improve for tomorrow.”

/// TONY ARBOLINO

• Arbolino spent the majority of the day working on the front end of the bike and believes he still needs to improve his feeling in heavy braking zones and turning, although the cornering potential of his package is very good.
• Otherwise, the 21-year old has positive feelings and good bike balance ahead of taking on day two. That was reflected in his positive lap times, with the Italian posting a 1’59.820 for eleventh place.

“There isn’t much that separates us from the top five”

“Honestly, I’m happy. The first touch today was good. We arrived here with a lot of motivation. My crew is so motivated so I’m looking forward to having a good weekend and a good first race. The objective is still clear. I think we’re working in a good way so I’m happy about that. Of course, I expected a step more on top but there isn’t much that separates us from the top five. That’s important for me. My target for tomorrow is to pass into Q2 and to be able to start from the first two rows. That is my goal.”