A CRASH HALTS LOWES’S PROGRESSION AT BARCELONA
The #CatalanGP did not start the best way possible for Sam Lowes, who only completed four laps in the morning session of the seventh Grand Prix of the season due to a crash at turn five, which did not allow him to make his way back to the track before the chequered flag. The Briton could not find the same feeling he had a few weeks ago at the same track – with the grip level clearly lower compared to testing.
In the afternoon session, which saw almost the entirety of the riders unable to improve their personal-best times, Lowes chose to focus solely on the longer-run performance as he only lapped with used tyres.
The 1’45.419secs lap-time puts Lowes in 19thposition, only seven tenths of a second away from Luthi’s provisional pole position. Tomorrow from 10:55 local time it will already be battle to gain direct access to Q2 for the Catalunya Grand Prix.
19th– SAM LOWES #22
“It wasn’t the day we’d hoped. We lost a little bit of feeling and also had a crash this morning, which basically cost us the whole session. In the afternoon we basically lapped with used tyres and that’s surely a positive ahead of the race and tomorrow’s free practice, which will surely be quicker than FP2. We need to improve the last bit of braking before entering the turn. Our pace with used tyres is not too bad, but it’s clear there is room for considerable improvement. We need to find something that will allow me to better under braking and quicker on corner exit. We still need 2-3 tenths to be competitive.”
