Lowes knows he has to "earn" 2019 MotoGP return

Unable to impress during his rookie MotoGP campaign, Lowes will return to Moto2 for the 2018 season, having had his two-year Aprilia deal terminated early.

The Briton had been a regular frontrunner in the intermediate class in both 2014 and 2015, and will team up with Tom Luthi's long-time CarXpert Interwetten squad next year using a KTM chassis.

Lowes said his goal is winning the Moto2 title in 2018 and subsequently return to the top class a year later, but he admitted he needs to "improve and earn" another opportunity.

"I’ll be honest, for the future, to come back it would have to be the right situation, and I would need to improve and earn that," said Lowes.

"If not, I stay in Moto2 and try to be world champion, that’s my goal.

"MotoGP is difficult for many reasons, and if come back I want it to be the right situation. Otherwise I’d stay there and try and win some more times, if possible.

"Obviously the goal is to be competitive, win the championship and get an option to come back in MotoGP."

Asked why he chose Interwetten over other Moto2 options, believed to include Forward Racing, for 2018, Lowes added: "If you look at what’s available and who’s not got contracts, for me it’s a team that’s been doing a good job for a number of years.

"They were very vocal in a good way towards me. It felt like they supported me and it felt like the right thing to do.

"Right now I want to do well in these [remaining MotoGP races] so I have a good focus, a good confidence, a good way to finish the year and I can go back to Moto2 in a good way.

"For that to be realistic… if I have some good results to finish the year, it’s on the CV and when you come back you’ve got that to go on. So that’s obviously the goal now."

Fastest rider "for 10 laps" at Misano

Despite crashing in last weekend's wet Misano race, Lowes enjoyed a positive showing, advancing into the top 10 from last on the grid.

The Briton said he was "proud" to be able to fight with other riders, and reckoned for 10 laps he was the fastest rider in the race.

"My bike was great, for 10 laps I was probably the best on the grid, I felt really good," said Lowes. "I overheated the front tyre a little bit, if it would have come back it would have been okay.

"I had the potential to do something at least, I can stand here and I'm not talking s***, saying, 'ah could have been this or that.'

"We're getting confidence because I had a fight, I could pass, got passed by, pass again, I was in a battle and it is great.

"I'm starting to feel again as a racer, and I was in the race I saw them [other riders] in front, I was going forward.

"It's not just riding around, I'm proud of me still having that 'I want more, I want that', and we got some more races. If it's wet or even if it's dry we can try to get some results.

"I'm disappointed obviously [about crashing] because it could have been a nice result, but at least I showed something rather than just being at the back."

Additional reporting by Jamie Klein