Sam Lowes dug deep to qualify 10th after suffering a bruising start to the Valencia GP weekend on his Elf Marc VDS Kalex.
A difficult Friday, both in terms of weather and track progression, gave way to a brighter qualifying day at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, with Lowes enjoying a promising final practice on Saturday morning.
Despite the right leg injuries sustained in his FP1 highside, the Brit secured direct entry to Q2 thanks to his 1’35.322 lap, completing the 40-minute session fourth overall and just over a tenth adrift of the fastest effort.
The afternoon’s final qualifying action was just as close with less than three-tenths covering the top 13 riders. Lowes’ best of the weekend, a 1’35.179, sat him 0.223s off pole position, placing him at the head of the fourth row for Sunday’s season-ending 25-lap race.
“You always want to do a little bit better than starting P10 for the last race of the year but I’m only two-tenths off pole position and I can’t be disappointed considering how I feel on the bike,” Lowes admitted on Saturday afternoon.
“My pace is quite strong, and the good news is the pain in my foot doesn’t get worse and that’s positive for the race. I’m still struggling a little bit and I’m not expecting too much given how I feel but I still feel I can have a nice race and be in a battle.
“The bike is working well and with a good start there’s no reason for me not to be competitive. Tyre management will be important like always, but I think I can manage that. There is a drop, but I did my best time on my last lap in Q2, so that’s something positive too. I just want to enjoy it and try and finish the season with a strong result.”
