Sam Lowes crowned a perfect weekend by winning the first Moto2 race of 2021 in Qatar with an almost-flawless performance in the desert.

The 2021 season started in style under the floodlights at the Losail International Circuit with the 20-lap Moto2 race demonstrating the full potential of Lowes and the Marc VDS partnership, as he rode to a commanding victory, finishing over two-seconds clear of the chasing pack.

Having topped preseason testing, led FP2 and clinched pole position, Lowes started as the pre-race favourite and despite a turn two crash in the blustery afternoon warm-up session, he showed no signs of buckling under the pressure.

Making a solid start, the Brit took the lead from Marco Bezzecchi at the start of lap three and there was no looking back. Expertly controlling the race, the 30-year-old gradually extended his advantage over Remy Gardner to win by 2.26s as the flag was waved.

With his seventh win in the Moto2 class, and the fourth in his past seven starts, Lowes also becomes the first British rider to win the debut race of the season, in any grand prix class, since Barry Sheene in the 1979 Venezuelan Grand Prix!

“Honestly, the first one is always difficult,” Lowes reflected from Parc Fermé “because you have all winter to think about it. Every time you are training, or even if you can’t sleep at night, it’s on your mind! It has a massive build up.

“We’ve worked hard for this race over the last few months, obviously doing all the runs in practice and I just got into that position and just stuck to what I’ve been doing, so this was nice. Obviously the crash in morning warm up didn’t really go to plan, this wind is really strong and my style is a bit different to the other guys.

“I was really trying to stay low and try and get out of the wind, but it was a difficult race. I was just trying not to make a mistake but my pace was strong and I’m just so proud of myself and the team to start the year like this. It was a tough last 10 laps but I’m very happy and we get to do it again next week!

“I’m really proud of that ride because it was solid. To get pole position and win at the first round starts things off in a good way. My team has done a fantastic job. It was nice to go testing and build a base for the season. Winning the first race is a mega start!

“I’ve got a bit of a thing with Qatar because I’ve had pole position here before and front row starts that have never led to anything, then I crashed today in warm up, and with the wind, different conditions to what we’ve had at the test and this weekend, I was probably more nervous than normal, but once I got into the race and found my rhythm then I felt really good to be honest.

“It was just a long race because towards the end me and Remy had similar pace but it was just about not making a mistake because the wind was not really that consistent, and it was definitely really blowing hard the last few laps but I’m really happy to start like this. We said we’d be happy with the podium so to get the win is nice and nice to get one up on Remy after he beat me in Portimao!

Despite being dubbed ‘Sam the Man’ by his fellow podium-sitters, the Brit isn’t calling himself ‘the one to watch’ in the title-fight just yet.

“I feel good at the minute,” he admits “it’s a long time since I’ve been in the same team for a second season so it definitely makes things easier because you come in already in good form. Moto2 is very strong, and if you start thinking like that, then this is the time that things start to go down so I’m just gonna keep doing what I’m doing but I think it’s obvious that I have the speed and I’m here to fight, like these guys are. So there’s definitely a message but I’m sure they’ll be happy to reply and keep fighting next weekend. I’m proud of the weekend, I’m proud of my speed, I’m happy with everything but there’s a lot of guys that are very, very fast and very good, so we’ll keep working.

“Last year was, in the end, a good year for me but nobody was talking about me to do that job. I was coming from some tough years, no one was really talking about me in the light of battling for the championship or winning races so it was a very different feeling. It was just to try and prove I could do it again and be fast.

“Now, naturally after last year and after being fast in testing, you get a bit more [attention], people are talking about you, that you have a chance to either win or be one of the front guys, so it’s normal that brings a tiny bit more pressure. Obviously us guys all believe in ourselves and want to be at the front anyway but it’s a long winter and to come to the first race and win, it’s normal to be emotional.

“It doesn’t matter how many times you can be on that podium or win a Grand Prix, it’s winning a Grand Prix! It’s a very big thing, it’s important to me, to my life, to my family and the first one after the months off is always emotional and I’m just letting it sink in.”