With the dust settling after a rollercoaster weekend at the Pirelli Portuguese Round, Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) can take off his helmet and relax for a moment after what may have been one of the most resilient performances of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season so far. The British rider overcame a pair of fractures in his hand suffered back at Phillip Island, and far from just mailing in a few finishes in the points, the #14 landed a trio of P5 finishes for what is his biggest points haul from a round so far in his WorldSBK career.

Injured or not, he attacked the round with no holds barred to start off on Friday; the Englishman came flying out of the gates on the opening day to send himself to an early pair of Free Practice P1’s. While the factory Ducatis took a step between Friday and Saturday, along with Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) and home hero Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Lowes clung to the top half of the timesheet and landed himself a second-row start from P5 from a 1’39.090s Tissot Superpole session time.

A SOLID WEEKEND HAUL: “Three fifth places and a lot of points collected is something I would definitely have signed for on Thursday”

Race 1 saw his brother Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) move up past him, and the #5 crashed out from the podium positions. Lowes hung in at P5 to take away a solid 11 points from the encounter after fending off early attacks from Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) before pulling away from the riders behind him to finish six seconds ahead of Vierge. In the Tissot Superpole Race, he struggled early, falling as far back as P7. He recovered slowly with a Lap 4 overtake on Vierge, and a Lap 7 overtake on Montella, who he kept behind him for the rest of the Race. Lastly, in Race 2, each of the top five finished in their grid start positions, but Sam Lowes kept the podium within around a two-second gap for most of the contest, a promising sign for his platform once he is back to full fitness.

On overcoming the weekend’s challenges, Sam Lowes said: “It has been a tough weekend for me, and that’s what I expected coming back from the injuries, so I’ve got to be really happy with the results we’ve achieved. Friday was a big boost to be the fastest in both sessions, and I’ve been able to show good pace across the weekend. I wasn’t far off podium pace in Race 2 and three fifth places, and a lot of points collected is something I would definitely have signed for on Thursday. I still don’t think we are showing our full potential just yet, but I have a great team behind me, and we know the Ducati package is very competitive, so when I’m fully fit, I’m sure we can take another step forward.

A GRITTY PERFORMANCE: “I’m really proud of myself to dig in and get to the end in all three races”

Throughout his WorldSBK career, Sam Lowes' pace has rarely been in question; his fitness when the race weekend rolls around is more frequently a topic of conversation. Unfortunately, his season debut was marred by injury, but his toughness in pulling out a performance like this despite multiple arm fractures is part of what makes him the rider he is. The #14 will look to make the most of the weeks of rest now until April 17^th and the commencement of action at Assen’s ‘Cathedral of Speed’

 On what it means to him to be able to scrape together a strong finish at Portimao, Lowes said: “Looking back on his performance here after his Injury at Phillip Island, Lowes said: “I left Australia with my arm in a cast wondering if I’d even be able to race here in Portimão, so I’m really proud of myself to dig in and get to the end in all three races. I was struggling in the last four laps of Race 2, but didn’t lose my concentration and kept focused, and it was great to get another top five. Now we can focus on being stronger physically for the next round in Assen because that is a track I love.”

Tune in for the next round at Assen, April 17th, Live with the WorldSBK VideoPass!