Sam Lowes described his Saturday at Circuit of The Americas as a ‘disaster’ after his hopes of battling for Moto2 Grand Prix of The Americas pole position was dashed by a crash early on in Q2.

The Marc VDS rider came into the grid-deciding session feeling confident about his speed around the Austin venue following significant gains in the preceding Practice 3 session.

However, just as Lowes was starting his first flying lap in Q2, a clip to the inside kerb at the Turn 9 flick folded the front-end of his Kalex to send them skating off course.

Though Lowes was unhurt in the fast fall, the same could not be said for his bike, which after turning over was too damaged to remount.

It meant Lowes ended the session without a time to his name, consigning him to row six and 18th position on the grid for Sunday’s race, a frustration he succinctly conveyed in dramatic animation in front of the trackside cameras…

Moto2 Grand Prix of The Americas - Qualifying Results

“Today was a disaster as I made a mistake on the first lap of qualifying,” he said afterwards. “I clipped the kerb, lost the front and then the bike rolled over so I couldn’t get back on it and get a lap in. 

“Overall, I feel quite good on the bike. The team has done a great job through the weekend. But we really need to improve on Saturday, even if today was an extreme case. Once again, we have good rhythm for the race. 

“So tomorrow we need to start well and do a good first three laps, then stay focussed, save the tyre and keep a consistent pace to the end. I’m sure we can still get a good finish and some good points before we go back to Europe.”