Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) took away his second WorldSBK podium of the year from his home round at Donington Park for the Prosecco DOC UK Round. Now in his sophomore MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season, the English rider was pleased to have notched another rostrum finish after his maiden P2 at Assen; however, he suffered patches of bad luck throughout the weekend. He saw his Race 1 end moments after it had started due to contact from behind after a crash behind him involving Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) and Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team). Despite that, Lowes is happy with his home round and looks forward to Balaton Park and Race 1000!

HOME HERO: “Today was good though, I felt strong, and there were a lot more fans, I felt a lot of support”

Race 1 was a trying affair for Sam and his brother Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team). Sam got a substantial jump off of the line, ahead of most the riders from his P5 position, he entered the corner behind just Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in the lead when suddenly his bike wiped out from underneath him and he was sent sprawling into the gravel with a pair of Ducatis.

Sunday’s Tissot Superpole Race gave Lowes the chance to rectify that. Starting from a P4 grid position, he did well to hang with Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati), Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Razgatlioglu in front of him, By Lap 3, Rea had been overtaken for P2 by Bulega, and he fell into the sights of the #14 as Lowes was chasing his second career WorldSBK podium. At the outset of the third lap, Lowes hung just 0.008s behind Rea, and after making his move a sector later, by Lap four the Ducati independent rider had already put six-tenths of a second between himself and the six-time World Champion. It would go on to hold that position for the rest of the race.

On his Superpole success, Lowes said: “I was very very happy to get the podium in the Superpole Race. We ran a really good race, we chose the SC0 tyre, which I think was the right call. The track conditions were very similar to Saturday, so we just got dug in in the first laps and just tried to stay with Bulega as best I could. We had good pace until the end; I really enjoyed it. Alvaro was coming, but I had good pace. I’m really happy after yesterday, when I was taken down in the first lap and lost a bit of track time. Today was good, though. I felt strong, and there were a lot more fans; I felt a lot of support.

ATTRITIONAL WEEKEND: “I was a bit nervous for Race 2, my shoulder was quite tired after yesterday, so I was hoping to start with a good first few laps then try to relax into my rhythm”

The medical centre assessed the #14 after his Race 1 crash to have suffered a contusion to his left shoulder, an ailment which, while it didn’t rule him out of competition, it was clearly on his mind in the subsequent races. Lowes was riding well in P2 when his bike slid out from under him in Turn 1, ending any hopes of a home double. Lowes however, views the weekend positively and acknowledges that while perhaps the Race 2 outcome wasn’t what he had desired, the weekend on the whole was illustrative of the progress he has made this season in just his second year as a WorldSBK rider.

Lowes continued to break down his Race 2 crash: “Honestly, I was a bit nervous for Race 2, my shoulder was quite tired after yesterday, so I was hoping to start with a good first few laps, then try to relax into my rhythm. I chose the SC0 tyre, which, honestly, I believed the other guys would. I didn’t really know what the other guys would choose. So, when I got off the start, I think Bulega got a bit boxed in like I was behind Toprak. He’s obviously riding on another level at the moment, but in the third lap, he braked deep into Turn 1, and I lost the front. That was a mistake on my part, it’s only my second race crash this year since Portimao, because the other two I was crashed into by someone else, it looks bad because of yesterday but in the end I’m happy with the weekend, I was fast in quite a lot of sessions across different conditions. I’m really finding the feeling with both ends of the bike, last year I think I finished in P16, so it shows a step.”

Catch Sam Lowes and the rest of the grid at Balaton Park for Round 8 and WorldSBK’s 1000^th race! WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 50% off!