Early Finish For Sam Lowes At Unlucky Austrian Grand Prix
The tenth round of the 2016 Moto2 World Championship, the Austrian Grand Prix held today at the Red Bull Ring, saw the Team Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 rider Sam Lowes retired after a crash during the fourth lap of the race.
After losing the front at Turn 9, despite a damaged bike the determined 25-year-old English rider tried to continue the race, but he struggled to ride with the handlebars damaged, which then led him to another crash.
Despite the setback Lowes maintains the third position in the Championship standings, 55 points behind series leader Johann Zarco, today’s winner.
SAM LOWES (DNF)
“I was feeling strong in the part of the track where I crashed early in the race: probably I struggled more with the full fuel tank, losing the front. I was able to re-join the race, because you never know what can happen, but the handlebar was damaged and this led me to a second fall. We struggled all weekend and today my pace was not enough to get on the podium, but I could have fought in the group battling for sixth place and limit the damage. I’m very disappointed because now the top of the standings is far: anything can happen, of course, but now my priority is to have fun and to enjoy riding my bike again, in order to try to win some races and get some podiums. It’s been a tough weekend, but now we look forward to Brno and Silverstone, two tracks I really like, and of course we will try to come back”.
FAUSTO GRESINI
“It was a disastrous race for us… Fortunately Sam had no injuries in the crash. Now we need to think carefully about what’s happening, to understand why recently we were not able to be as competitive as in the previous races. Obviously I’m very sorry for Sam and for the whole team: now we have to stay focused in order to find a solution that would allow us to return to winning ways”.
