"Something to build on!" Sam Lowes claims seventh at Valencia to finish fourth in Moto2 championship

Sam Lowes ended the Moto2 campaign with a seventh place finish in Valencia as teammate Augusto Fernandez took his sixth podium finish of the year.

The race was red flagged after an incident at turn two and then re-run over a reduced distance of 16 laps.

In perfect, sunny conditions, Elf Marc VDS Racing Team riders Lowes and Fernandez capped strong seasons by confirming fourth and fifth places in the 2021 Moto2 Riders’ World Championship.

The combined efforts of Lowes and Fernandez totaled three wins, 11 podiums and 364 points across the season, meaning Elf Marc VDS Racing Team finished second in the 2021 Moto2 Teams’ World Championship.

A huge crash on Friday morning put Lowes' participation in the rest of the weekend in some doubt as he injured his right leg.

But the Brit gritted his teeth in his trademark style to qualify tenth for the race on Saturday.

Lowes then produced a brilliant performance in the circumstances. After a steady start, he fought his way through from 10th in the early laps to finish seventh, just five seconds behind first place.

The 12th top-seven finish of Lowes’ season confirmed his fourth place in the 2021 World Championship with 190 points.

“I’m really happy to finish the race with a solid performance,” Lowes said.

“Honestly, it wasn’t too bad. Obviously, with the red flags the race was shorter, which probably didn’t play into my hands.

"The pace was quite strong for everybody and I had qualified further back.

"I knew the first three or four laps I was struggling a bit more than after. I dropped back a bit but it was a real fun race.

"I was catching guys ahead and passing them. I’m relatively happy. I was really compromised after the crash in FP1.

"I felt a bit sore all weekend at a track which is my nemesis now.

"My target will be to come back here and get a good result in the future.

"The team did a great job with the bike, it was working well. I’m really happy to finish the race with a solid performance after the injury.

"It continued our nice end to the year. It gives us something to build on as we go into the winter to improve our weak points so we’re ready for 2022.”