Elf Marc VDS Racing Team – Moto2

Sam Lowes
Born 14 September 1990 in Lincoln, England.

Supersport World Champion in 2013, Sam Lowes switched to Moto2 the following season with the Speed Up team. After a learning season, he won his first Grand Prix in 2015, in Texas. He finished fourth in the world championship and finished on the podium four more times. He then signed with the Gresini team. A title contender, he made too many mistakes in races and had to settle for 5th place overall. In 2017, he entered MotoGP with Aprilia, but without much success. Back in Moto2, he struggled to find his feet in the Swiss Innovative Investors team, which ran KTM chassis. After another stint with Gresini in 2019, he secured a place with Marc VDS in 2020. The marriage was a success as Lowes fought for the world title all season long. With seven podiums, three wins and three pole positions, the Briton refound his form to become one of the favourites for the Moto2 championship. In 2021, the Marc VDS rider finished fourth in the overall standings, adding three wins to his tally. Sam Lowes started last season with the objective of challenging for the world title, but unfortunately he was injured at the beginning of the season. Forced to withdraw from several Grands Prix, he only scored 55 points and finished the year in 19th place overall. At 32 years of age, the Briton will be wanting to prove that he can still hold his own against his younger opponents. 

Tony Arbolino
Born 3 August 2000 in Garbagnate Milanese, Italy.

Tony Arbolino was just four years old when he made his debut in minimoto. In 2009 he took part in the Italian Championship, progressing steadily. In 2015 and 2016 he raced in Spain with Paolo Simoncelli's SIC 58 team. Runner-up in his second season in the CEV, he made his Grand Prix debut in 2017, scoring his first two points. The following year, recruited by the Marinelli Snipers team, he regularly finished in the top ten. In 2019, he achieved a new level of success with seven podiums and two victories, finishing the season in fourth place. A title contender in 2020, he eventually ended the season in Moto3 in second place overall behind Albert Arenas. Moving up to Moto2 with the Intact team in 2021, Tony Arbolino finished a promising fourth at Le Mans. Fourteenth in his first season in the intermediate class, he was recruited by the Marc VDS team to succeed Augusto Fernandez, who had moved to the Aki Ajo team. The Italian did not disappoint his new employers. He scored his first three Moto2 wins and five podiums to finish the championship in fourth place. Of course, Tony Arbolino will be going into 2023 with the ambition of taking the world title.