The countdown to the season finale in the 2026 WorldSBK Championship is well and truly underway, with the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team and Sam Lowes ready for action in the penultimate round this weekend at Estoril on Portugal’s Atlantic coast  

Based just a 30 kilometre drive from the stunning capital city of Lisbon, Estoril was first on the WorldSBK calendar back in 1988 and the 4.18km track hosts round 11 as Lowes looks for one big final push in his quest to secure third overall in the standings.

Free Practice 1 gets the action up and running at 1020am local time on Friday morning.

Lowes lands on the Portuguese Riveira this weekend looking to make up for lost time after injury forced him to withdraw from last year’s Estoril encounter.

Despite setting the second fastest time in FP3 during last year’s event, Lowes was declared unfit for qualifying and the race action on Saturday and Sunday due to a rib injury suffered during a training accident in the build-up to Estoril.

It’s a different tale in 2026 though with Lowes ready to tackle round 11 in peak physical shape on board his Ducati Panigale V4R machine.

Lowes has a best finish of 13th when he first raced at Estoril in WorldSBK back in 2024, but expectations are much higher this weekend in two 21-lap full distance races and the 10-lap Superpole battle.

The 36-year-old currently lies fifth in the rankings on 219 points with nine podium finishes so far in 2026, including one each in the last three rounds at Donington Park, Magny-Cours and Cremona.

“Finishing on the podium is always the target”

“I’m really looking forward to going back to Estoril this weekend because unfortunately I couldn’t race last year with the rib injury. I did a few laps there last year and was pretty fast, but I couldn’t do many in a row and that’s why we made the difficult decision not to race. Estoril is a track I like and I enjoyed racing there back in 2024. Some parts of it are very fast and some parts very technical. The weather looks like it is going to be good and it’s always a pleasure to race in front of the Portuguese fans, who always give us great support. Finishing on the podium as always is the target and I feel we have the potential to be in the mix.”