Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) was back on form in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto, Andalucia. The British rider struggled in Portugal just a week ago with a best race result of tenth, but bounced back with second in both Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 as the Pirelli Spanish Round kicked off. He was behind only 2026 Champion Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati), with around a quarter of a second between them.
In FP1 at Jerez, Lowes set a best time of a 1’38.407s to claim second behind ‘Bulegas’. His longest run in that session was seven laps, although two of these were in the 1’44s or slower, making them unrepresentative. The majority of those laps were in the 1’39s bracket. In FP2, his best time came at the end of his third run when he improved to a 1’38.459s, and he was also able to complete a nine-lap run. Of these, one was in the 1’43s so unrepresentative, while all but one of the other eight were in the 1’39s bracket. The other was in the 1’40s.
Discussing his Friday at Jerez, the 14-time podium finisher in WorldSBK said: “It was really good. It’s nice to come to this track, one I know well and have had nice experiences at. On my first lap, I felt good. I had some issues today with the brakes, I was struggling a little bit. It’s not something that’s happened before. It changed our rhythm a little bit and I didn’t show my real pace. Overall, it’s been a positive day and it’s a pleasure to ride this track.”
A week ago, at Estoril, the #14 was on the back foot all weekend. He was P7 in FP1, P13 in FP2 and FP3 and P10 in Superpole. That left him on the back foot for all three races, with the Brit finishing 11th in Race 1, 10th in the Superpole Race and 15th in Race 2. It meant he lost too much ground in the battle for third in the standings, falling out of mathematical contention, and also losing the chance to be crowned the Best Independent Rider with Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) wrapping up the title at Estoril.
Speaking about what’s changed in the last few days, Lowes said: “At Estoril, I had a small issue, but I wasn’t fast anyway all weekend. I don’t think I was in the top ten in any session, maybe I was ninth in one. I didn’t feel good. I didn’t get the feeling with the front of the bike, I felt like I was on the limit even though I was going slow and just couldn’t get it going. We haven’t changed so much, just gone to our Jerez base setting. I was quite relieved on the first lap when I checked the dash, and it was quite a fast lap. I’ve made some mistakes, and not got the results, but I’ve been fast at every track. It was a strange one to be so slow at Estoril. I’ll try to improve that for next year.”
While he’s out of contention for third in the world in 2026, there is one accolade the Brit can still win. He’s 12 points behind brother Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) in the fight to be the top Lowes brother this season, and Sam Lowes has started off the weekend ahead of the #22. Ahead of the round, both riders joked about it, with Alex stating it would be a “long winter” if Sam was ahead and Sam saying a last-lap fight on Sunday would be “funny”.
Can Lowes return to the podium and close out 2026 on a high? Find out using the WorldSBK VideoPass – now only €4.99!