There was late heartbreak for Sam Lowes, who crashed out when chasing the lead in the Italian Grand Prix, while Augusto Fernandez suffered a first lap fall.

Sunday’s 21-lap Moto2 contest took place in sunny, warm conditions with track temperatures of 40 degrees. Despite having the speed for strong results, Sam Lowes and Augusto Fernandez unfortunately failed to finish.

On Sunday we learned of the sad passing of Jason Dupasquier, who tragically succumbed to his injuries suffered in a crash during Moto3 qualifying. Everyone at Elf Marc VDS Racing Team extends their deepest condolences to Jason’s family, friends and team at this difficult time.


AUGUSTO FERNANDEZ, DNF

Augusto showed he had top six potential by setting the 7th fastest time in morning warm-up and knew a fast start from 13th on the grid was crucial.

But the 23-year old suffered early disappointment as he fell on the first lap at turn 10 when attempting to pass Ai Ogura.

The result means he drops on place to 13th in the world championship with 23 points to his name.

“I couldn’t avoid the contact with Ogura”

“It was a shame crashing out on the first lap again. I couldn’t avoid the contact with Ogura. I was trying to recover some positions because my start wasn’t the best. I stayed in the same position as I qualified and I knew I could make a good race. I tried to pass him in Turn 10 but he closed the line. To avoid contact with him, I braked more when turning into the corner and I lost the front. Each of the last crashes were different, but they all came at the beginning of the race. A shame, but the good thing is we have another race next week and I have to finish it. I felt good testing at Montmeló so we’re looking forward to the next round. I’m sorry for the team but we will be competitive in Montmeló and for sure we will do a good race there.”


SAM LOWES, DNF

After qualifying second, Sam didn’t panic on the first lap when he found himself in fifth place. He quickly got by Fabio Di Giannantonio and Tony Arbolino to sit third and set a new lap record – a 1’51.208 – and the race’s fastest lap the third time around.

The 30-year old soon passed Remy Gardner for second on lap 10 and then started reeling in leader Raul Fernandez, who was 1.8s ahead. By lap 16 Lowes had reduced that deficit to 0.7s but a fast crash at turn 8 brought his race to an end.

The Briton remains fourth in the world championship with 66 points, 48 behind leader Gardner.

“I’ve been fast all weekend and I’m riding well”

“Obviously I’m really disappointed to crash today because I felt really comfortable in that position. I didn’t get a great start but felt I had a nice race to that point, battling with those guys. I’m sorry for the team for making that mistake because we had a guaranteed podium there, if not a chance for the victory. We have to take the positives.

I’ve been fast all weekend and I’m riding well. I just need to start finishing races to get some points back. But it’s a long season. Now we have to take it race-by-race if we want to fight for the championship. I’m happy with my speed and I’m already looking forward to Barcelona.”