Sam Lowes begins Moto2 campaign with podium at Lusail International Circuit

Lincoln's Sam Lowes gritted his teeth in heroic fashion to claim last-gasp third place in the first Moto2 race of the year.

The spectacular Lusail International Circuit hosted the first race of the 2022 season with the Moto2 race taking place over 20 laps with a 16.20 start.

After achieving a spectacular double front row start on Saturday, Elf Marc VDS Racing Team duo, Sam Lowes and Tony Arbolino, showed their excellent potential for the season ahead after being involved in a brilliant four-rider fight for third place.

In the end Lowes took the final place on the podium by just 0.078s and the Italian ended inside the top five.

After a tricky start which dropped him from third to eighth, Lowes set his personal best lap of the race on lap four (a 1’59.062) to get involved in the fight for third place.

Due to the tendonitis issue in his left wrist, the 31-year-old was struggling to stop the bike in heavy braking areas but nonetheless fought hard with Ai Ogura, Augusto Fernandez and team-mate Arbolino.

Starting the final lap fifth, Lowes took advantage of the fighting ahead to clinch third exiting the final corner for his 24th podium finish in the Moto2 class.

“It’s been a difficult couple of weeks," he said.

"But we had a good qualifying yesterday and a podium today.

"The race was difficult. There were a couple of guys that were stronger than me.

"It was in a nice battle but I couldn’t ride how I wanted to ride.

"So, to get some points on the board is good and to get the podium at the end is fantastic.

"Overall, I have to be quite happy with the weekend.

"The team did a fantastic job because over the winter we didn’t really have anything to build on.

"They’ve done brilliantly to give me a fantastic bike. I’m happy to get some points on the board and I look forward to Indonesia.”