Moto2: Sam Lowes 'a little worried about my left wrist'

Sam Lowes heads into his ninth season of grand prix racing at Qatar this weekend having undergone daily treatment for the tendonitis issues that forced an early end to the official Portimao Moto2 test.

The Englishman remains concerned about how his left wrist will feel when he takes to the Lusail track, scene of a perfect double victory last season.

Lowes later added a third win at Misano on his way to fourth in the world championship.

But the clear aim for the 31-year-old is now to repeat his 2020 form, where he battled Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini for the title until the very final round.

“Qatar is a track that I love and obviously it was an amazing start to last season when I won both races from pole," said the Marc VDS rider.

"I’m a little bit worried about how my left wrist is going to feel when I get on the bike, but since the Portimao test I’ve been having daily treatment and resting as much as I can to be in the best physical condition I can be.

"I hope to arrive as well prepared as possible. It will feel a little different this weekend because we go straight into the race without a test in Qatar and this year we race in the day and not at night.

"I honestly can’t wait to get out there and get started and I’m really looking forward to a great season.”

The Moto2 race will start at the earlier than usual time of 16:20, with only the MotoGP race now taking place under floodlights.