Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) at the close of 2024’s eighth round sat in eighteenth place in the Riders’ Championship; he was yet to fight in earnest for the podium, and his best result was a P6. Fast-forwarding a season, he now sits in sixth place in the Championship, has earned four podiums so far this season, and is fresh off tying his career-best MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship result of P2.

SUPERPOLE RACE SPECIALIST: “It’s always better for us riders to get to have a dry race, and to come out with two podiums, I’m really happy”

Few knew what to expect as the Balaton Park Circuit’s Hungarian Round approached; the track, which was hosting its maiden WorldSBK round, had only been completed in 2023. The most experienced riders had a test event on the track, where they rode the track with road bikes, not their normal competition superbikes. Undeterred, Lowes kept his good form rolling, and after a Race 1 crash out from P2, the #14 fought hard to earn his first double podium in the Championship.

“I’m really really happy with the double podium today. Everyone was talking a lot about the forecast over the weekend, expecting it to be wet, but in the end, we had a wet Warm Up, a dry-ish Superpole Race, and then a dry Race 2. It’s always better for us riders to have a dry race, and to come out with two podiums, I’m really happy. I struggled a little bit more in the longer race. I may have been missing a little bit of data after crashing out of the first half of Saturday’s Race 1. Bulega was a little faster than me, but not by a massive step. I managed to learn a little bit more. Toprak was well ahead; he was having a different race. I’m really happy with how we’ve finished this first part of the season, each weekend I feel like we get a little bit stronger, so massive thank you to the team to come back after Saturday’s crash.”

TRUSTING HIS GUT: “When I first went to the grid, my first initial feeling was ‘this is the right feeling, this is the right tyre”

Sunday morning’s Superpole Race posed a strategic question to the riders. Overnight rain left the track damp with dark clouds still overhead, but after a fully wet Warm Up session two hours prior and events from WorldSSP and WorldWCR, the racing line was mostly dry. As time ticked down, the #14 and his team decided to bet on the weather holding and for the track to continue drying out. Their wager paid out, and while strong riders like Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) fell farther down the order and outside the points.”

On the Superpole Race: “When I first went to the grid, my first initial feeling was ‘this is the right feeling, this is the right tyre’ so I said to the guys that we should stay in that direction, and if it rains again, it’s a gamble. In the end, many riders opted for this, and it was the correct call. When I went to P1, Toprak made a mistake, and Petrucci went a little too deep, so I managed to overtake him. I managed to build a gap, but obviously Toprak caught up quite fast, and I think after Saturday’s crash, I didn’t want to take too much risk, and I think unless you’re pushing at 100%, it’s difficult to stay in front of Toprak. I was happy with second place in the Superpole Race. Then, in Race 2, I took a lot of confidence into it. I tried to be aggressive in the first laps, but Toprak got away. Later, I was battling for P2. Now we have a few weeks off, but I’m happy because my trend is moving in a positive way, I think at Donington and here we could have gotten better results, but we’ll keep working hard and come in strong to Magny-Cours!”

Next up for Sam Lowes and the rest of the grid: Magny-Cours for Round 9! Tune in live or on demand with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 50% off!