Moto2: Brits end campaign on a high

British Moto2 duo Sam Lowes and Danny Kent have finished their final race of 2016 on a high, with Lowes ending the year with a solid result after a difficult second half of the season and Kent turning his year around at the eleventh hour.

Lowes has struggled since his home race at Silverstone ended in disaster back in September, crashing out alongside title rival Johann Zarco and ending his hopes of becoming the 2016 champion.

That run of form continued right throughout the flyaway races, completing only four race laps in three outings – but finally taking something positive from the end of the season by beating Alex Rins in the last corner for fourth place.

“After three bad races it was important to finish, and we did it. I knew I could keep a similar pace to the fastest riders, and we did it; the problem is that I was not so fast in the first three or four laps. I was a bit nervous at the start considering that all the crashes in the previous Grands Prix took place in the early stages of the race.

“Later, however, I could relax and I dug deep: it was not the best ride of the year, but it was a positive one and it’s important to end the Championship in the top five, although we deserved much more. This year I had a great time, the team is fantastic and I want to thank everyone.”

And Moto3 world champion Kent had just as positive a weekend after an incredibly tough season for him, with radical crew changes within the Leopard Kalex team finally bringing him some form to take ninth.

“It’s not our best result of the season, but it’s our best weekend and I felt much better with the bike. I had a different person working with me, and it’s made the weekend much easier. It’s too little too late, but it’s better than never – I just wish we could have found out at Qatar, because who knows what could have happened then.”