Lowes and Fernandez complete second day of testing in good shape

The last Official Moto2 test before the season has already surpassed the halfway point, with only a day of track action left before the season opener in a week's time.

Marc VDS riders Sam Lowes and Augusto Fernandez have both looked strong so far even with windy conditions playing a role on day-two at Losail. 

Lowes ended the session in ninth, but was as high as fourth for quite some time, before a crash in the closing stages after having fitted new tyres. 

Speaking after the second day, Lowes said: "Today was another good day and I’m really happy with the step we made compared to yesterday.

"The team did a great job giving me the same feeling that I had on the bike at the end of last year when I was really strong.

"I was very fast on used tyres and the final result could have been better, but unfortunately I crashed when I went out on a new set of tyres.

"That prevented me from showing my true potential, but I’m excited for tomorrow with the pace I’ve already shown."

For Fernandez, the Spaniard narrowly missed out on the top ten in the combined standings with 12th place. 

However, like Lowes his race pace looked very strong. Fernandez consistently lapped in the top ten for much of the final session and ultimately went 0.5s quicker than on the opening day. 

Fernandez added: "Today was positive for me again. It was quite windy at times, which made it difficult to push and draw any accurate conclusions.

"In that situation it is easy to get confused with the setting but in the final session we concentrated more on the front again.

"I’m still missing the ideal feeling I’d like, but I feel we’ve made some good progress in that area."