It was a game of two halves for ELF Marc VDS’ Sam Lowes on Friday as he navigated the resurfaced 4.5km Assen track in both dry and wet conditions on his way to 13th overall.
His 1’37.792 best came on his penultimate lap of the morning’s 40-minute session running Dunlop slick tyres before his wet weather prowess came to the fore in the afternoon.
Running comfortably inside the top-10 for the duration of the final practice, the Brit secured sixth thanks to his 1’48.275 lap, with just six-tenths separating him from Hector Garzo’s leading time, and confident there was more to come on Saturday.
“It turned out to be a good day in the end because this morning I didn’t have the speed I was hoping for,” Lowes admitted this afternoon.
“I didn’t feel like I was riding very well but we checked the data and understood quickly where we were missing and where we could easily find time.
“This afternoon in the wet I felt good. I took my time in the early laps just to check the grip on the new surface and I felt strong. If we get more rain tomorrow and Sunday, which could be the case, then it’s a positive that the new surface has a lot of grip.
“Hopefully tomorrow morning it will be dry so we can try a few things to improve, but I feel in any conditions we can be strong because I always enjoy riding at this track.”
