MotoGP: Increased confidence for Lowes in Qatar

Gresini Aprilia rider Sam Lowes says he’s come away from the final preseason test of the 2017 MotoGP season pleased with the improvements to his confidence that he’s made, after a series of crashes weren’t enough to dent his good feeling with the RS-GP during the three-day test in Qatar.

Surprisingly upbeat considering how far down the time sheets he finished, the former World Supersport champion says that the important thing for them so far has been confidence not lap times, and that finding one means that the other will quickly follow suit.

“It may seem strange, but just at the end of this last day, when I crashed, we found the right setup for the 2017 RS-GP to increase my confidence. We had some particular tests. We have a lot of things to try and sometimes that keeps us from focusing on pure performance. This is all part of my growth.

“Right now my sensations in the saddle are more important than lap times and I learned a lot even from the less positive situations. I am optimistic about the race. The work we did on the front of the bike gave me the confidence I was lacking and now the points zone, which is the goal I’ve set for the first race, appears to be well without our reach. We’ll set up our first weekend based on what we found today – a nice starting base.”

And team boss Romano Albesiano echoed the sentiments of his rider, pleased with where Lowes is at ahead of his first race in the championship in two weeks’ time.

“Sam did very well, despite the fact that he fell a couple of times. He improved consistently over the three days, showing that he has the potential to do well. Now we have two weeks to finalize our work and turn up at the first race with goals that are within reach for us, well aware that we have room to improve throughout the season.”