SAM LOWES Case in point was Marc VDS Ducati’ s Sam Lowes, who had suffered two low-scoring rounds at Balaton Park and Autodrom Most, dropping him back to 5th in the championship … followed by a storming weekend at Motorland Aragon which restored him to 3rd in the standings and lead independent. Misano was an opportunity for him to consolidate his position but it turned into a trainwreck. Crashing in quali, before laying down the sort of lap time he’ s capable of, left him in 10th place on the grid and, whilst he made good early progress in Race One, it all ended when he crashed out on lap six. Nil point. Another crash in the Tissot Superpole Sprint gave him a second blank scorecard and, to make matters worse, a poor grid position in Race Two as the first nine grid positions go to the first nine finishers in the Sprint race. Finishing out of the top nine in the Sprint race compromised Lowes’ Race Two before it even started and, whilst he did get to see the chequered flag, he was only able to advance from 12th on the grid to 10th at the finish for a total of six points for the weekend.
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