Elf Marc VDS’s Sam Lowes claimed fourth overall as StyrianGP Moto2 practice kicked off in Spielberg after narrowly avoiding Friday afternoon’s downpour.

Having wasted no time in getting back up to speed after the five-week summer break, Lowes repeatedly challenged for top-three contention before ending his morning fifth, with a 1’29.406, after working through geometry and gearbox settings across his 22 laps.

Having missed the heavy rain that disrupted the closing MotoGP session, Moto2’s afternoon practice allowed Lowes to return to slick Dunlop tyres. His improved lap, a 1’29.351, placed him second in the FP2 standings and claimed fourth overall, with the Brit confident of more to come on Saturday.

“It was nice to be back because after such a long break it feels quite strange to ride and you need a few laps to find the feeling again,” Lowes explained from Spielberg this afternoon.

“I was happy to be fifth this morning and then second this afternoon because we had two very different bikes for the two sessions. We can now look at the data tonight and put together the best package for tomorrow.

“We got quite lucky with the weather and though it was damp at the start of FP2, we had two mostly dry sessions and that helped us get through a lot of the work we had planned.

“I feel good for tomorrow and look forward to a strong performance in qualifying.”