Sam Lowes completed his most successful season in WorldSBK in epic fashion today, with a sensational Sunday double podium at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto clinching the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team star fourth overall in the World Championship 

A season best second in yesterday’s Race 1, Lowes made it an incredible podium hat-trick with third in the Superpole race and third in Race 2 after a nail-biting and thrilling last lap showdown with home hero Alvaro Bautista.

Ending the team’s third season in WorldSBK with a triple podium and securing fourth overall in the standings was another fitting tribute to Elf Marc VDS Racing Team founder and owner Marc van der Straten, who sadly passed away in July.

^{// SAM LOWES: Superpole Race: 3rd, Race 2: 3rd}

After the Jerez circuit was bathed in glorious sunshine on Friday and Saturday, the final Sunday of the season took place in much cooler and cloudier conditions with the threat of rain constantly in the air.

Much like the first two days in Andalucia, Lowes was once again a central figure in this morning’s 10-lap Superpole race and after starting P2 he crossed the line in third position behind factory Ducati duo Nicolo Bulega and Iker Lecuona.

A wheelie off the line to get Race 2 underway put Lowes down in fifth at the first corner, but he quickly eased back into fourth by twin brother Alex at the end of lap one.

That pitched the Briton into the podium battle with Bautista, and the tension only increased as powerful wind gusts developed and small rain spots started to fall on the 4.4km Jerez track with five laps remaining.

Bautista held a 1.8s advantage at that stage, but Lowes wasn’t to be denied and he showed incredible skill and bravery as the rain spots intensified to pass the Spaniard with just nine corners remaining to complete a truly sensational fightback.

Today’s results brought the curtain down on a hugely successful and emotional campaign for Lowes and the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team, with his podium tally of 12 comfortably beating the five he scored in 2025 and his final points total of 268 being a personal best in WorldSBK by 84-points.

“My best scoring weekend of the season is a great way to finish.”

“I’m really happy with the weekend, so massive thank you to the team. My best scoring weekend of the season is a great way to finish. I didn’t feel quite as good in the last race and I got a bad start but I managed just to make a few overtakes and get my head down and then when the rain came, I managed to overtake Alvaro and get the podium. It was a great weekend. It’s a season of ‘what could have been’ a little bit – we should have probably been a bit closer to 3rd in the championship. But overall, it’s been positive, lots of good points to take. I think a result like that heading into winter is positive for myself and all the team. A big thank you to everyone for the support, massive thanks to the team, and let’s see if we can improve on 4th place in 2027.”