Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Sam Lowes and Tony Arbolino return to the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan for the first time since 2019 this weekend to kick off a hectic period of four flyaway races in just five weeks.

• Lowes will make his return to action for the first time since suffering left shoulder and upper arm injuries in a Free Practice crash in his home round at Silverstone, though his participation in Sunday’s 21-lap race is subject to passing a pre-weekend medical check.
• Just five days after last weekend’s Motorland Aragon race in Spain, Lowes and Arbolino will participate in just one Free Practice session on Friday, which gets underway at 1410pm local time.

/// SAM LOWES

• Absent for the last three races after his FP1 fall at Silverstone in early August, Lowes is raring to return to action for round 16 this weekend for the Japanese Grand Prix.
• Lowes recently celebrated his 32^nd birthday and he is hoping to mark his much anticipated return to race action by improving on his previous best result in Japan, which was an eighth place finish back in 2015.

“I’m excited to get back to racing”

“It feels great to be back racing again this weekend. It feels a long time since Silverstone and I’m excited to get back working with my crew again. I’ve been working very hard to get myself in the best shape possible but I know these first two races are not going to be easy. I need to pass the fitness test but over these last days I feel there has been a big improvement with my injuries and I feel I can ride. I’ve been back on two wheels just to try and recover some bike fitness because apart from a couple of laps in Silverstone, I’ve not been on a proper race bike in three months. It has been a tough period watching at home but I’ve been doing everything I can to get myself ready both physically and mentally. I really wanted to be in Aragon but I just needed that extra week to get myself in even better shape and now I’m looking forward to racing in Japan for the first time since 2019.”

/// TONY ARBOLINO

• The Italian heads to the Far East full of confidence after a brilliant ride to fifth place last weekend in Motorland Aragon, which was a first top five finish since a fantastic fourth position at his home round in Mugello in May.
• Sunday’s race will be Arbolino’s fourth appearance at the Twin Ring Motegi but his first in Moto2 and his best result at the 4.8km track was a sixth place in the 2018 Moto3 World Championship encounter. 

“I arrive in Japan with a very good feeling”

“Aragon was a very positive weekend for me because we challenged for the top five in every session and also in the race. That is the goal for every round in this final period of the season. Now I arrive in Japan with a very good feeling on the bike and I’m looking forward to carrying on the momentum we gained in Aragon. My confidence is high and now we must look to make another step and aim to finish on the podium. I’m confident we can do that in what is going to be a very demanding period of the season.”