MotoGP rider Sam Lowes will make a return to the Moto2 World Championship next season with the Interwetten team.
The British rider stepped up to the MotoGP class for 2017 with Aprilia after three years in the intermediate tier, in which time he tallied up three wins on Speed Up and Kalex chassis.
However, a difficult year in MotoGP saw Aprilia break contract with Lowes a year early in favour of compatriot Scott Redding – who will be replaced by Jack Miller at Pramac next season.
Confirming on Thursday at the British Grand Prix that he had ‘three options’ to return to Moto2, current Interwetten rider Tom Luthi’s signing to Marc VDS in MotoGP for 2018 had Lowes strongly linked to the team.
While disappointed at missing out on an opportunity at staying in MotoGP for 2018, Lowes feels he deserves to return to the premier class in the future should he succeed in winning the Moto2 crown.
“I want to go back, earn that respect back from the people who maybe don’t think it and come back to MotoGP as a world champion, and if I can’t do that I don’t deserve to come back, and I accept that,” he said.
“But I feel if I go back to Moto2 and win the championship I deserve another shot. That’s nice, you know, I feel confident, I feel like I got a plan, and if it happens I can hold my head high, and if it doesn’t it wouldn’t be for a lack of trying and that’s a nice situation to be in I believe.
“Obviously, I’m not trying to make it sound better than staying in MotoGP, of course.
“It would have been better to come this year, be successful and stay there, but also the situation like it is, good things can come out of it.”
Elsehwere on the Moto2 grid, Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 rider Bo Bendsneyder will make his intermediate class debut with the Tech3 team as the Intact GP-bound Xavi Vierge’s replacement.
