There are weekends when racing becomes secondary. As the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship paddock arrives at Donington Park this week, the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team will do so mourning the loss of founder Marc van der Straten. The Belgian built one of motorcycle racing's most respected teams around a simple philosophy: do everything possible to give yourself the best chance of winning.
HOME ROUND FOR THE #14
Donington was already one of the team's biggest weekends of the season with a home round for Sam Lowes. The 35-year-old arrives at his home circuit believing he can challenge at the front, but after the loss of the man who built Marc VDS as a team, a first victory would carry a significance far beyond a career milestone.
THE IMPORTANCE OF INDEPENDENT SQUADS
Privateers have always played a key role in motorcycle racing. From the beginning of the Superbike World Championship, the key was to allow teams and riders to compete at the highest level on as equal a playing field as possible. The “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” mantra has always been attributed to manufacturers trying to sell road bikes to customers. It has also ensured that success attracts the best Independent teams, all wanting to race the machinery most capable of winning.
DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO WIN
When the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team announced their move to WorldSBK, it was one that was met with enthusiasm from the paddock. That the team, three times World Champions in the Moto2 World Championship, would run Ducati machinery was seen as a positive step for the series. Marc van der Straten was seen as an owner who would leave no stone unturned in the team’s quest to win. Motorsport was his passion and he wanted to ensure his team had the best chance to win. Whether it was hiring the right rider, recruiting the best engineers or securing the strongest machinery, every decision was driven by the same philosophy; leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of victory.
A TEAM FULL OF RESILIENCE
The team has embodied resilience in recent years and with Sunday’s announcement of the passing of its founder the team will need that resilience more than ever to deliver WorldSBK success on track in his honour. The close-knit nature of the team has been clear to see since they joined the grid in 2024 but so has been their professionalism. Marc VDS have added a lot to the WorldSBK grid. Their performances with the Ducati V4R have seen Sam Lowes as a genuine contender at most weekends. The Englishman has had a pole position and 11 podiums and this weekend, at his home round, plenty of eyes will be drawn to the #14 machine. Lowes, who lives less than five miles from Donington Park, has had his home round circled on the calendar all year. It was also the circuit where, last year, he showed he could fight at the front. Nicolo Bulega is the man to beat at the UK Round as the Italian bids to continue his unbeaten start to the season, but Lowes will be a man on a mission.
A CHANCE FOR THE #14 ON HOME SOIL?
Home success eluded Lowes in Moto2, but he has never arrived at Donington with a better opportunity. A podium in the Superpole Race last year, when he was narrowly beaten by Bulega, will give him confidence. To beat the Aruba.it Ducati riders has proven an almost impossible task this year but with a sprinkling of good fortune anything could happen at the UK Round. Donington is a circuit of two halves. The flowing opening sector plays to Bulega's strengths, while the stop-start final sector should suit Lecuona. Overall, however, the layout is one that favours Lowes. This weekend he'll need to deliver one of the cleanest weekends of his season to have a chance of springing a surprise. Winning is always the objective in racing. This weekend, however, it would mean more than another trophy. It would be a fitting tribute to the man whose belief, ambition and passion built one of motorcycle racing's most respected teams.
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