British rider Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) sent off his 2026 season on a high note, bagging his first podium triple since Aragon, and even snagging a Race 1 silver medal, only the fourth rider to do so in a season where top two finishes have been almost exclusively controlled by factory Ducati bikes. His Pirelli Spanish Round results completed a comeback for fourth place in the Riders’ Championship, a feather in the #14’s cap as he claims bragging rights over his brother Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team), who was sent back to a Championship P5 finish at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto, Andalucia to close the 2026 campaign. It’s been an emotional season for the #14, including the tragic passing of Team Owner and founder Marc van der Straten.
PICKING UP THE PIECES FROM ESTORIL FOR P2 ON SATURDAY AND P3 ON SUNDAY MORNING
Arriving to southern Spain on the heels of a tough round at Estoril in which the #14 took only six Championship points – his worst points haul in a round since Misano back in June – the #14 set the tone early with P2 in the Tissot Superpole session. He outpaced Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) by a tenth to start ahead of him in Race 1 for the first time since Round 9 at Magny-Cours. He put that improved grid start to good use, holding off the #7 through the early laps before settling into a rhythm; by Lap 8, more than two seconds separated them, leading to a second-place finish.
A colder, overcast sky greeted the field on track as they set off in their Tissot Superpole Race on Sunday. An overnight step by the factory Ducati #7 saw him see the Brit down to P3 at the Turn 6 overtaking hotspot on the opening lap. As Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) led the pack ahead of them, Lecuona and Lowes sailed clear of the rest of the pack for the #14 to finish just shy of four seconds behind the Spanish rider, but nearly four seconds clear of Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) in P4.
“THE RAIN MADE IT HARD IN THE FIRST SECTOR; IT GOT A BIT NERVE-WRACKING THERE”
Race 2 brought out all the stops, while the British rider looked to complete his hat trick. Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) was determined to close out what has been an uphill 2026 campaign with silverware as his 2027 ride remains unclear. At lights out, the Spaniard enjoyed perhaps his best start of the season, surging from P6 into third. Lowes, however, fell back to fifth into the opening corner as his bike popped a wheelie off the line, costing him vital acceleration into Turn 1. By Turn 6 of the opening laps, he had taken P4 and set his sights on the Spaniard for the bronze-medal position. By Lap 13, he trailed the #19 by as much as 2.6 seconds. Lowes came into his own in the final laps of the session, however. The grey clouds overhead began to produce spots of rain on track by Lap 16, and the Brit clocked a hellacious final five laps. He made up half a second on Lap 16, four tenths on Lap 17, and nearly a second on Lap 18 to force a final-lap battle to the line. He overcame the two-time World Champion at Turn 5 of the final lap to close the season on the podium as the clouds finally let loose a torrential downpour after the flag.
On his Sunday fight with Bautista for the final podium of the year, Sam Lowes said: “I’m really happy with the Tissot Superpole Race. I got a bad start in Race 2, I didn’t have quite as good of a feeling, but the pace was strong, Alvaro rode really well. I just kept pushing to the end after trying to save the front tyre over the middle laps. I got a tad lucky with the conditions, but they’re the same for everybody and I’m happy to finish the season like that. I made a couple of mistakes over the middle of the race. From there, I tried to relax and save the tyre. Then, he made a few mistakes, and the rain was coming, so it’s easier to be the guy behind. The last laps felt good. I changed some of the mapping towards the end and came forward a bit. I saw an opening in Turn 5 and made a good move. I feel sorry for Alvaro; he’s done a great job, but in the end, it’s racing, and we’re all trying to finish on the podium. The rain made it hard in the first sector. It got a bit nerve-wracking, as we would push hard in the other sectors but then need to be careful there. We got really, really lucky; we could go at a normal speed, but 3-4 minutes later it became a torrential downpour.”
“I SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIGHTING WITH MONTELLA FOR THIRD, BUT I MADE TOO MANY MISTAKES”
With his podium triple to close the book on 2026, Sam Lowes improved his spot in the standings above his Bimota-powered brother Alex Lowes. He said he would have liked to fight with Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) for the third spot in the standings, but off-track issues, including the passing of their beloved team boss, and a lack of consistency in the second half of the campaign kept him from doing so.
Looking back on his season, Sam Lowes said: “I made many mistakes this season. Of course, it’s also been quite difficult off-track. Over the second half of the season since losing Marc, I’ve struggled a bit with my consistency. Apart from Estoril, I’ve been fast enough at every track. At Estoril, I was slow, but at the rest I was close. I’ll need to work on that for next season. I should have been fighting with Montella for third, but I made too many mistakes, I’ll improve that for 2027.”
Watch back through all of the best moments of his season with the WorldSBK VideoPass!