1. Sam Lowes (Moto2)
Sam Lowes worked his socks off to clinch the 2013 World Supersport crown after a titanic tussle with Kenan Sofuoglu but the Briton knew he was entering the lion’s den when he entered the Grand Prix paddock and the madhouse that is Moto2. His first two races had seen impressive showings with sixth in Qatar and sixteenth in Texas despite being knocked off at the first corner.
Argentina saw Sam’s toughest challenge yet and the uphill climb was made even steeper by a crash in qualifying. Lowes lost control of his Speed Up at turn eight and although his bike was relatively undamaged, the foot rest effectively stabbed him in his leg. Understandably, Sam qualified a little lower than expected but he still had hopes of a points finish from 22nd on the grid, no matter how much pain he’d have to go through.
Photo Credit: MotoGP.com
The first lap didn’t bring the intended leap up the order, Sam moving up just a couple of spots to nineteenth but from there, the Lincolnshire man made excellent progress and was up into the points by the end of lap three. As Lowes climbed higher, the opposition became tougher and Sandro Cortese and Jordi Torres (right), one a Moto3 champion and the other a Moto2 race winner, stood between Lowes and eight place.
On this day, Lowes wasn’t to be denied and not only did he pass both Jordi and Sandro, he pulled away by setting lap times on a par with the leading group. Eighth place in Argentina may not stand out in the record books as a special result for Sam but the performance produced to achieve it was exactly that.
(Photo Credit: MotoGP.com)
