A P4 finish in Race 2 to capped off Sam Lowes's (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) weekend at Autodrom Most. The pair of fourth place finishes and a P6 in Race 1 come as welcome results for the British rider, who was transparent in saying he was nervous about a how h was going to perform this weekend after his crash in the 2024 Superpole Race which ended his weekend via injury. Lowes battled with Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) throughout the weekend, and perhaps if Lowes continues his form, we will see the pair continue to fight more for the top Independent rider.

CONTINUED PROGRESS: “it could have been a better Sunday but honestly coming here after crashing here last year was a really good weekend”

After a Tissot Superpole Race in which Lowes had another great start off of the line, moving up to P5 from his P9 grid start after only a lap, Lowes overtook his brother Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) atop his Bimota machinery. The overtake set the #14 up in P4, he charged forward to try to claim a podium spot from Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), who held on by just under a tenth. In Race 2, Lowes jumped out ahead of ‘Petrux’ and held P3 for about a half the race before a Lap 14 overtake saw the Italian claim P3. Lowes kept asking questions, but ultimately the Englishman’s fellow Ducati Independent rider held on to cross the finish line just under two tenths of a second ahead of the Marc VDS rider.

“Starting a bit farther forward after the podium was good, I got away on the first lap in third behind Toprak and Bulega, but their pace was impressive, so I just tried to settle into a good rhythm,” said Lowes. “We were quite a bit quicker than Saturday, obviously I knew I had Petrucci behind me for a while before he passed me about a mid-race. I was able to stay with him, we had quite similar pace, he was maybe slightly stronger in the first half of the lap, I was stronger in the second half of the lap; so I really dug in to try to get back to him at the end, in the Superpole Race I was only 0.09s behind him, in Race 2 0.17s, so it could have been a better Sunday. Coming here after crashing here last year was a really good weekend. The layout of the track and how you have to ride the bike here highlighted a few things about my riding style I still need to improve but overall, it was a positive weekend.”

NO SOPHMORE SLUMP FOR LOWES: “I’m happy to be fighting with guys like Petrucci who have a few more years of experience here in WorldSBK”

Lowes has found another gear so far in 2025 compared to his 2024 rookie season form. In addition to earning his first WorldSBK podium and first pole position at Assen; Sam Lowes has earned ten top-six finishes out of the 15 races so far in the 2025 season; in 2024 the #14 only broke into the top six once. His good form has earned him P6 in the Riders’ Championship standings, between Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) 24 points ahead of him, and Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC), 31 points behind.

On his recent run of good form, and looking ahead to next round, Lowes said: “It’s been good timing to find the form I have found recently. I’m really happy for the team and really grateful for the work they have put in over the winter and the offseason. Everybody knows how good the Ducati package is, so were lucky for that but we still have to do the job. I’m happy to be fighting with guys like Petrucci and some of these other guys who have a few more years of experience here in WorldSBK; but coming into Misano which is a track I know a bit better, I want to take another step forward. I’ve had some success at Misano in the past in Moto2™ and we’ve tested there in the past, so I think everything’s on a positive trend.”

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