ELF Marc VDS’ Sam Lowes left Le Mans with little to show for a challenging Moto2 weekend after crashing out of the FrenchGP at Garage Vert.

After surviving the hazardous heavy rain of Sunday’s warm-up session, Lowes lined up in 10th position as the race was declared dry, with the slick Dunlop tyres the obvious choice.

Enjoying a solid start, the 30-year old held his position in the opening laps before upping his pace with a personal best on lap three as he moved through to eighth. Unfortunately the Brit crashed out of the race at turn eight on the following revolution when attempting to overtake Xavi Vierge for seventh, losing the front and taking the Petronas rider with him into the gravel with the pair unable to restart.

Lowes second DNF of the season means he drops a place to fourth in the world championship with 66 points, 23 behind leader Remy Gardner.

“I’m really disappointed” Lowes admitted from the Le Mans paddock this afternoon.

“I want to say sorry to the team and to Vierge for the accident. I was passing him, I felt OK and that the move was possible. Another rider was wide ahead of us so that meant there was no margin to go wide when overtaking. This might have made me squeeze the brake a little more so I lost the front and then my bike took him down.

I’m sorry for that and to my team as we threw away a great opportunity with our speed but I’ll take the positives to come out stronger in Mugello. It’s nice we go back there after missing it last season. It’s a track that we all enjoy and love to ride. I can’t wait to get there and put this race behind me.”