It's back to the future for Sam Lowes next ⛦season, the Brit banking on a ꦬfamiliar Gresini, Kalex and Ohlins recipe as Moto2 faces its first major engine and electronic shake-up.

Lowes enjoyed his best Moto2 campaig♏n to date with Gresini in 2016 - claiming two wins, six podiums and five poles. But as Aprilia MotoGP testing duties increased, Lowes' feels his focus was diluted by the different machines and he dropped out of the title fight.

T⛎he full-time MotoGP move then descended into a ho🌳stile nightmare during 2017, with Lowes soon feeling unwanted and unwelcome by senior Aprilia management.

A lack of results meant Aprilia replaced Lowes w🍒ith Scott Redding after the first year of a two-year deal, with Lowes switching back to Moto2 on a KTM chassis at the CGBM team.

This season hasn't lived up to expectations, but Lowes was in-demand for 201🦋9 as teams, chassis manufacturers and technical suppliers seek proven riders to steer development in the uncertain new era of 765cc Triumph engines and Magneti Marelli ECU.

For Lowes, the feeling was mutual, the former World Supersport champion believing close technical par꧋tnerships will be key to success next season, as he seeks to complete unfinished business in the Moto2 class.

But some eyebrows were raised when he chose to reun🐎ite with Gresini, given the unpleasant Aprilia experience.

Lowes explained that the all-Gresini Moto2 operation has little con൲n💟ection to the premier-class project and "even if I win every race next year I wouldn't ride there [Aprilia] again."

ltxcn.top's Peter McLaren and Neil Morrison spoke to Lowes abo𝕴ut his new deal and the big changes for Moto2 next seaso꧙n…

ltxcn.top:

It's now official that you'll be back at Gr🔯esini in 2019…

Sam Lowes:

I'm really happy. I enjoyed my time at Gresini before, but I made the mistake of testing the MotoGP bike in the second half of that year, which I think made us struggle a little bit more in Moto2 towards the end of 2016༺.

But up until Silverstone we were really strong, even winning again at Aragon, round 14. So it's good news for me. This year, of course I wanted the results to be bett🙈er, but I think people can still see that I can do it once we put it all together.

ltxcn.top:

You had no problem going back to Gresini, given how the Aprilia s✨ituation ended?

Sam Lowes:

Gresini have been in the paddock a long t♋ime. Fausto is involved [with Aprilia] of course, but the MotoGP thing is definitely separate. When you ride the Gresini Moto3 or Moto2 bikes you don't have much to do with Aprilia.

La🐷st time I was there I was a bit conꦜnected [with Aprilia] because I had a contract with them for MotoGP the following year, but now there's definitely nothing there and never will be again regardless. From their side, I guess, but definitely from mine.

Even if I win every race next year I wouldn't go and ride there. And they'd probably never have me back. I don't know, I've not spoken 𓆏to any of [Aprilia] since.

But Fausto has always been good to me.

Honestly, when you're riding for a team and the resul🌜ts aren't there it's hard. It's hard for a rider, it's hard for the team, it's not great for the sponsors. So it's normal that there's a bit of friction, but it's like in any relationship. Sometimes when I've seen you guys after I've had a bad race, I'm pissed off and you guys might think 'Sam's a bit of a dick today'.🧜 It's just the sport that we're in.

But in all fairness to Fausto he was always supporting me [in the hard times] and when we started talking again about this year he was spot on. I've got a lot of respect for that. He's been in the paddock a long time, as a r𓆏ide🔥r and team manager, and you don't stay that long if you don't act professionally. That's what I need.

I'll also be working with th🐈e same crew chief as 2016, who is the best I've ever worked with.

ltxcn.top:

And you'll be on the Kalex chassis?

Sam Lowes:

100%.

ltxcn.top:

With Ohlins suspension?

Sam Lowes:

Yes. Perfect. And I've had messages from both [Ohlins and Kalex] since signing, saying 'can't wait to work together again' because we had such a good relationship. And that's something 💙that we don't have this 𒊎year from the partners... I'll leave it at that!

ltxcn.top:

And those partners will be especiall🤡y important given all the technical changes in Moto2 next year…

Sam Lowes:

This year, the bike I had in Qatar and the bike I'll have in Valencia is going to be more-or-less the same. Next year, I believe, the bike we have in Qatar and the bike we'll have in Valencia are going to be very different. My opinion. Because lots of 𝕴things will be developing.

Even in 2016 we were still developing stuff. But now, with the Honda engines and the way the bikes are, there is not much more to come. So everyone is on that level. And I think for that reason next year will be a bit more spread out and you'll need the teams and support to go wit𝓡h that.

I just think t🎃h𝄹e teams that have a closer relationship with the technical partners will make a bigger difference next year.

Also next year there is more to the bikes; we've got a little bit of electronics for once, the engines will be different, the chassis will be new. So maybe the teams that can do a little bit with the aerodynamics for example… Now the aerodynamics are all t🐼he same. Because they've all been in the wind tunnel and anything that was different, and worked, has already been copied by the others.

I think💎 next year you'll need🐻 - not just the budget - but the infrastructure, the people and the technical relationships.

ltxcn.top:

You are one of the few Moto2 riders with exp🏅erience of MotoGP electronics, how much will that help?

Sam Lowes:

Moto2 was hard for me without electronics, because I came from World Supersport where we still hꦆad everything. The Yamaha I rode to win the Supersport championship had the blipper [automatic rev on downshift], the traction control, everything… it had more than we'll have here next year.

So when I came to Moto2 it was a big change, having less electroniꦅcs. So it'll actually be good for me and nice to have the electronics back and✤ I'm lucky now to have had the electronics experience from MotoGP and from Supersport.

In Moto2 I've also ridden for Speed Up, Kalex, KTM, so I'vꦰe got quite a lot of information and I need to use that to my advantage.

ltxcn.top:

Do you think we'll see a lot꧅ of different winners in Motoও2 next season?

Sam Lowes:

Not as many as 2010 b🅰ecause the bikes are not going to be so different compared with the change from two-stroke to four-stroke. But I do think you'll see a bigger difference than now, be🌄cause some people will get it nailed straight away and some people will be playing catch-up.

Because electronics - in my opinion, from the ones I've worked with and there's no reason for these to be different - they can make your life so much easier when they arꦅe working good. But they can make your life harder when they not working. Sometime♈s you just want to say, 'turn it all off and let me ride it'.

Maybe in Moto2 thཧere won't be so much, but even the blipper next year - if that's set-up wrong, you'll tip into the corner, it'll keep pushing you in and you can't stop.

ltxcn.top:

What do you think you'll have next year in terms of t🎶he electronics?

Sam Lowes:

My understanding is that🌼 the Marelli ECU can do anything, so it'll come down to what they let us use. I don't know exactly yet, but I know it'll have a blipper because I've seen the 2019 bike on track when we weꦑre at Aragon and you can hear it.

So you won't need to use the clutch when down♓shifting, which is amazing for me. One of my biggest downfalls is when I use the clutch because of the way I backshift. It's the only place I really lose time, and that'll be taken out of it.

Traction control would only help if it's set-up right because you need a bit of spin to turn the bike. So if you try and use tract൲ion control too much in Moto2 you'd be hindering yဣourself. But in the wet it'd be lovely!

We had traction control at Honda with PTR in Supersport. It took us a long time to get it working and in the end it was mint, but at the st💎art we were slower with it.