Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) took his first MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship of the 2026 season in style as he overcame a mid-race downpour to finish in third place at the TT Circuit Assen. As the rain fell, it looked like he might catch the Aruba.it Racing duo of Nicolo Bulega and Iker Lecuona but fell just short. Nevertheless, the #14 was back on the rostrum at the Pirelli Dutch Round, a year on from his first in the Championship at the same venue.

Lowes started the race from the front row after a stellar Tissot Superpole session where he split Bulega and Lecuona. He dropped to third as the lights went out and lost ground as Lecuona and Bulega looked to pull away, with the #14 seemingly in a relatively comfortable P3. He had Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) behind him on the timesheets, but the #19 lost a lot of ground in the first few laps and ended up around four seconds behind the British rider.

However, a mid-race rain shower changed things completely. Lecuona took advantage to move ahead of his teammate, although Bulega fought back to claim victory ahead of the #7. Lowes’ pace relative to the two factory Ducatis was quicker and he closed in on the pair, looking like he might have a chance of victory. He was unable to make a move on either of the two riders in red and eventually settled for third, his first podium of the season and it comes when the Lincoln-born rider is back to full fitness after his wrist injury.

Discussing Race 1, Lowes said: “I think it’s the right result. I got a bit closer because of the rain but, in reality, I was third best with my speed and pace. Probably all weekend I’ve been third best. I did a good lap in Superpole. I’m happy with that. It’s a very good track for me, obviously with many years in Moto2. With the fast, flowing nature of this track, especially Sectors 3 and 4 are, let’s say, Moto2 style, so it’s probably a track I can adapt to a bit quicker. The bike’s working well. I need to improve a little bit in Turn 1, 3 and 10; I’m not so fast, they’re the places I was losing to those guys. We can have a look tonight. Towards the end, I was struggling with the front tyre. We’ll have to think tomorrow, check the weather and see whether the harder tyre is an option or so if we can maybe do something to help.”

The Brit’s first WorldSBK podium came in the Tissot Superpole Race a year ago at the same venue, and after returning to the rostrum in Race 1, he’ll have high hopes he can repeat that success on Sunday, as well as fight for a rostrum in Race 2. The #14 also provided an update on his wrist, stating that he was a bit nervous ahead of the race, but everything came up well for the six-time podium finisher.

Previewing tomorrow’s action, the #14 stated: “I think two more podiums would be nice. I need to make a step to be with them, I missed a bit towards the end of last year, so my race fitness is not amazing. The rain probably helped me a bit, but I didn’t suffer as much as I thought I would with my arms. That’s very positive. I can sleep a bit more relaxed tonight because I was nervous about that before the race. I’m getting closer. In the next races, I’ll get closer to those guys and, of course, Ducati are doing a good job. Right now, as an Independent team, to be close to them, we can be happy.”

Can Lowes add more podiums to his collection? Find out on Sunday using the WorldSBK VideoPass!