Lowes fastest for Marc VDS, Fernandez struggles on final day
Sam Lowes and Augusto Fernandez complete three days of Official testing in Qatar ahead of the season opener in six days time.
Lowes had been consistently fast throughout the three days, and waited until the last session to show his best pace.
The British rider topped the final session and subsequently the overall combined times ahead of Moto2 title rival from 2020 Marco Bezzecchi and Remy Gardner.
Speaking after the test, Lowes said: "Today was a very good day and it’s always nice to finish fastest.
"We worked a lot on the bike over the first two days to give me a good feeling and in the last session tonight we put our best package together and did a race simulation.
"I had a really good rhythm and to be honest I didn’t expect to be fastest because I didn’t do a time attack. I just did the race run and my best time came in that, so I’m very happy.
"The team did a great job because the bike felt great at the time we will be racing at on Sunday, particularly with used tyres. We’ve done a good job all winter and now I can look forward to this weekend expecting to have a lot of fun to start the season."
Fernandez spent much of the test like Lowes, working on the setup of the Kalex. The Spaniard will be hoping to regain his 2019 form in his second season with the Marc VDS team.
In the final session of the day, Fernandez recorded his worst finish in the standings with 24th, but remains positive about what can be achieved.
"It’s been a hard day and a shame to finish the test like this. I wasn’t feeling good on the bike and I also had a crash in turn six, so it was a difficult session," said Fernandez.
"We worked a lot on the rear of the bike to understand more about what we need for the set-up next weekend. We had two positive days and that means I need to quickly forget what happened today.
"I’m not that far away in terms of the times and with all the positive things we have worked on this weekend I am sure we can show our potential in the race."
