Sam Lowes returns to action with impressive top six in Jerez, Augusto Fernandez 20th

After a four-month break caused by the global coronavirus outbreak, the 2020 Moto2 World Championship roared back into action at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto today.

Baking hot conditions meant it was a physically and mentally demanding restart for Lowes and Fernandez, who worked to on the base set-up of their Kalex chassis and tyre choice for Sunday’s 23-lap race.

In front of deserted grandstands, with this weekend’s action taking place behind-closed doors, Lowes made a stunning return to competition and was inside the top six in both 40-minute practice sessions.

Fernandez also put up a strong fight for the top 10 and he finished only 0.8s away from the best pace, with only a second covering the top 22 riders.

Augusto Fernandez
“It was quite a difficult first day. Step-by-step we are gaining confidence and improving the bike, but we are still too far away from the front. We need to analyse everything, but I think we are going in the right direction and this helps me to keep calm. We are going to work hard to make a big step for tomorrow morning’s session.”

Sam Lowes
“It has been a very positive day for me. I’m sixth overall and I felt good in both sessions. I tried some modifications on the bike in the afternoon when it was extremely hot, and I found some positive points with the hard front tyre. My pace is quite strong and I’ve worked a lot putting a distance on the tyres and I was consistent. I’m missing some feeling in a couple of corners but I’m really happy with the step we made from the test on Wednesday and now I can’t wait for my first qualifying session of the season tomorrow.”