Sam Lowes says he will be turning his attention towards improving his qualifying performances ahead of the San Marino Moto2 in an effort to capitalise on his competitive race day pace.

The Englishman has struggled to replicate the form he showed earlier in the season when he galloped to a dominant victory from pole position in Jerez and showed strongly at the following Le Mans round too.

Indeed, other than the Spanish Moto2 round, Lowes - who started no lower than third for three rounds in succession towards the beginning of the year - is yet to finish higher than seventh, an outcome he attributes to starting to far down the grid.

“I always look forward to the Misano race because it is like a second home race for me. I love the track because it is technical and challenging for a rider and I have gone well there recently. 

“We must improve on results from the last few races and we know that, but I feel like we are moving in the right direction. My race pace has been good, but I need to be better in qualifying to make life a bit easier. 

“I feel like we’re not far off another big result and it would be great for that to happen in Misano. I certainly feel we’re capable of fighting for the podium.”