P126
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
H
ere it is then: just an
everyday story of racing
folk. Rider distinguishes
himself in smaller classes. Gets
job in premier class with fac-
tory team. Starts winning races
in his first season. Becomes a
hero. Is called Marc Marquez.
Here's another one. Rider
distinguishes himself, etc. But
his MotoGP results aren't so
good. Nor, to be fair, is the
status of the team that hired
him. Then halfway through the
year they threaten to renege on
their promises, and scrap his
contract, which still has a year
and a half to run.
He is called Sam Lowes, and
the story of his move from top
Moto2 maniac to bruised and
battered also-ran on a factory
Aprilia doesn't make a happy
read. Trouble is, it's very hard
not to like the cheerful and
spirited Englishman, and the
same goes for the underdog
Aprilia team, which has a real
human face. And the bottom
line is that both bike and rider
have had a torrid time. Jointly
and separately their results
have been pretty dire.
Lowes was a hard charger
in Moto2, and after his first win
in 2015 was signed up for the
MUST TRY HARDER
