The typical British summer saw a cloudy start to the Silverstone weekend as cold temperatures caught Marc VDS’ Sam Lowes out in Friday’s morning practice.
A strong start in front of the home fans had seen Lowes fighting for the top-three in FP1 when he fell at Brooklands in the final 10 minutes, the turn 16 left-hander leaving the Brit stranded but uninjured as the clock counted down. His earlier time, a 2’05.830, was enough however, to complete the opening practice in sixth, just 0.064s from the top-five and under a second from the fastest time.
The afternoon saw Lowes return to his confident best as he set about work on the soft Dunlop tyre, improving with 2’04.815 pace to secure third in the overall standings and with a strong base for the weekend ahead.
“Today has finished in a very positive way,” Lowes said from Silverstone. “This morning wasn’t ideal with the crash, but I was on the hard front tyre, and it was quite cold.
“This afternoon it was much better and not only were we able to put in some very good times, but we also worked on my base setting and the team did a great job in FP2. They improved the bike a lot and I felt fast from the very first lap.
“We worked on the soft front in FP2, but I think tomorrow we need to have another look at the hard option because normally I find that spec a lot better suited to my riding style.
“We got good information and I had good pace, and it was an incredible feeling to be at my home track again and seeing all the support for me in the grandstands was very special.”
