Sam Lowes rallied to climb from 14th to 5th at the German Grand Prix, while Augusto Fernandez was unfortunate to be taken out of the race by another rider.

The 28-lap race was held in ambient temperatures of 28 degrees and was a true test of tyre management with front tyre wear critical around the tricky 3.7km Sachsenring track.

Elf Marc VDS Racing Team’s Sam Lowes and Augusto Fernandez faced some adversity over the weekend. Lowes recovered brilliantly from a Friday crash which hurt his neck. And Fernandez reacted well to a tough qualifying in the first seven laps, even though he was unable to finish the race.


AUGUSTO FERNANDEZ, DNF

The rider from the Balearic Islands confirmed his good pace in morning warm-up, a session in which he finished fourth. He therefore knew a fast start from 14th on the grid was crucial.

But the 23-year old had a complicated start, and dropped to 17th at the end of lap one. Augusto then recovered well, gaining nine positions to sot eighth on lap seven but a turn 12 collision with Jake Dixon caused him to crash out.

The unfortunate non-score means Augusto stays in twelfth in the championship with 34 points.

“I feel we could have made a really good comeback”

“It’s a shame. Starting from 14th, the first laps are always difficult coming from those positions. But I was feeling good, and riding so well like in warm-up. I felt the bike was working well. I feel we could have made a really good comeback and fought for the top five or even the podium. Today was not our fault. Dixon took me out. But this is racing and we cannot think too much about it. Apart from qualifying, when we got a bit lost, we came back this morning. With these feelings we go to Assen. We now have a good feeling in every practice so a good result has to arrive. We’ll keep working and pushing to get it.”


SAM LOWES, 5th, + 9.888 s.

It was a tough start to the race for the 30-year old who dropped from seventh to twelfth after the first turn, and then lost two further positions on lap two to sit 14th.

But Lowes never gave up. He made some strong moves and maintained his pace in a 7-rider fight for 3rd. A great last lap move on Marcel Schrotter was enough to secure a fighting fifth place.

The eleven points for fifth place are crucial for Sam’s championship. He remains fourth overall with 86 points, 78 behind leader Remy Gardner.

“I’m really quite happy to get eleven points”

“I’m quite happy with the race. We struggled all weekend. The team gave me a good bike and I stayed in the group. I was really close to the podium in terms of pace. I lost too much time again at the start. On the first lap I was a bit too nervous and didn’t have a great feeling. Then as the race went on I improved. I was quite fast compared to the podium guys. I obviously didn’t have anything for Remy, who was a big step in front. But I’m really quite happy to get eleven points and I look forward to getting to Assen, one of my favourite tracks, next week.”