The French round of this year’s WorldSBK Championship ended in frustration for Elf Marc VDS Racing Team rider Sam Lowes at Magny-Cours today 

Lowes suffered late heartache in this morning’s Superpole clash when he fell out of third place on the final lap before taking the chequered flag in a red-flagged Race 2 in a solid 11th position.

Yesterday’s superb Race 1 podium, which was the Briton’s eighth so far in 2026, keeps him firmly in the fight for third overall in the Championship with three rounds still to come.

^{/// SAM LOWES:}
Superpole Race: DNF
Race 2: 11th

Brimming with confidence after his excellent ride to third spot in Race 1 yesterday, Lowes opened his account in Sunday’s action in impressive fashion when he set the third fastest time in the Warm Up session.

His top three run in France looked set to roll on when he ran third in the 10-lap Superpole race and began the final lap 1.2s clear of Yari Montella.

But pushing to make sure he didn’t leave himself vulnerable to a late attack from the Italian in close pursuit behind, Lowes unfortunately tumbled out of podium contention at turn three on the final lap.

Frustrated to miss a golden opportunity to claim his 14th WorldSBK career podium, Lowes was determined to instantly bounce back with a strong challenge in Race 2, which started for a scheduled 20 laps in hot conditions that saw air temperatures nudge 30 degrees.

A hectic first lap around the 4.41km Magny-Cours track saw Lowes lose early ground and drop back to 14th position.

The 35-year-old then settled into a constant rhythm on board his Ducati Panigale V4R machine and after the race was red flagged late on, Lowes was only one second away from the top 10 and classified 11th.

“Today wasn’t our day but the weekend had plenty of positives” 

“I’m disappointed with how today panned out because I had a really good Superpole Race and the podium was there for the taking. I’d worked hard to build a gap and felt strong but unfortunately on the last lap I got caught out at turn three and crashed out. That was a real shame because up to that point I’d performed really well and a podium would have been a great reward for our efforts. The team did a mega job to get the bike ready for the second race but physically I just wasn’t able to perform at my maximum level. I just didn’t have the same feeling, so I’m still pretty happy to pick up some important points. Today wasn’t our day but the weekend still had a lot of positives given our speed on Friday and Saturday. After a hard day like today though it’s all eyes on Cremona and doing a good job there.”