Sam Lowes is confident his flawless pole-to-flag victory in the Spanish Moto2 at Jerez will act as the 'kick' he needs to get his 2023 Moto2 title bid underway as he lifted himself onto the fringes of the championship battle.

Having been boosted by a rapid lap in qualifying that left rivals awe-struck, Lowes was in similarly commanding form come race day as he sprinted clear of Pedro Acosta to clinch his tenth career Moto2 win.

"Today I felt I had something extra in my pocket. Mid-race I was quite comfortable. I could do this lap time each time around. This is the thing about racing: when things are going well you find the flow and can keep going. It was a really important step."

Coming into his ninth season of Moto2 with his sights set firmly on clinching that elusive first Moto2 World Championship title, the Marc VDS Racing rider nevertheless arrived in Spain firmly in the shadow of the points' leading team-mate Tony Arbolino.

Indeed, despite scoring in each of the opening three races, a modest seventh place finish in Portugal remained the highlight right up until he snatched the spotlight by qualifying on pole position with a lap a huge 0.5s faster than his closest rival.

Though a tardy getaway would allow Acosta to take the initial lead, Lowes' pass on the KTM Ajo rider at the final corner had him back in front before the end of the opening lap.

From here, Lowes meticulously drove home the advantage, piling on the tenths with each lap to quickly move clear of pre-race favourite Acosta.

With Acosta unable to find an extra gear to hunt Lowes down in the closing stages, the Briton could afford to take it easy to the flag for his first win since the 2021 Emilia Romagna Moto2 race at Misano.

“I knew I had the pace this weekend, and I knew Pedro would be strong. We had a wee bit extra compared to the other guys. The team has done a good job this year with the package and the bike was working well today.

"We first tested the new bike here in March and this weekend we could see the progress we’ve made. We did a good qualifying so I could show my speed in the race. In Portugal and Argentina, I had the pace to be on the podium so it was great I could have a good Saturday and show that today.

"I struggled at points in the first races but at least I brought points home in difficult weekends. Now, with that win we’re in a good position. I need to kick on from this. Le Mans is a track I enjoy. I took my first win for this team there. I need to use this momentum to keep the ball rolling!”

CLICK HERE to view 2023 Moto2 World Championship standings after Spanish MotoGP