Lowes’ Hunt For Victory At Silverstone Stopped By Zarco’S Risky Move
The Team Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 leaves Silverstone with a bitter taste in the mouth after dominating almost all the British Grand Prix weekend with Sam Lowes: in today’s race the 25-year-old British rider, started from pole, could not avoid the crash after a contact caused by Johann Zarco with just three laps to go, just after Sam passed the French rider and was catching race leader Thomas Luthi.
Immediately after having been overtaken by Lowes, Zarco was right back inside of Sam with an unfair move, touching and forcing the English rider to go off the track and crash. Zarco’s maneuver, considered irresponsible riding by the Race Direction, who sanctioned the French rider with 30 seconds on his final race time, effectively put an end to Sam’s race, who still managed to rejoin the race, crossing the finish line in 21st position.
SAM LOWES (21st)
“I had some problems early in the race, but then later it was easy for me to recover: in the final stages I was feeling really comfortable so, with three laps to go, I passed Zarco and I was already thinking about catching Luthi, because I felt to have something in the pocket. Then Zarco made a move on the inside, pushing me off track with a stupid maneuver. Zarco made something wrong, and I think he made it on purpose, so he deserved to be penalized, but at this point I don’t care about it: apart from the Championship, today was a special day for me and I wanted to win, but for this it was not possible. I worked hard during all the weekend and I was fast on both dry and wet, then in the race I was in a good position to win. I really wanted to get the win in my home race, and it’s a difficult to accept this situation, because I didn’t make any mistake. I’m very sorry for the team because they did a great job. Now the only answer we can give is to return in Misano even stronger”.
FAUSTO GRESINI
“Today, unfortunately, we missed a great opportunity: we knew we could pick up a great result, to close the gap in the championship, but the incident with Zarco stopped us. Johann was penalized, but I still remain disappointed because as a result of this episode not only we have we lost a great opportunity, but we also lost more ground in the standings. I am very disappointed”.
