Sunday in round 10 of the 2026 WorldSBK Championship turned out to be one of contrasting fortunes for Sam Lowes and the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team at the Cremona circuit in Italy 

Third in yesterday’s Race 1 and a strong fifth in this morning’s Superpole battle, Lowes put himself in a great position to secure more important Championship points when he unfortunately crashed out of fifth in Race 2.

With two rounds remaining in 2026, Lowes will head to the penultimate clash of the campaign in Estoril next month sitting fifth in the overall standings on 219 points.

^{// SAM LOWES: Superpole: 5th, Race 2: DNF}

Third quickest in the Warm Up session to open the Sunday action, Lowes was a constant threat for the podium in the 10-lap Superpole race which was contested in gloriously sunny conditions once again.

He ended lap one in fifth position and then exerted non-stop pressure on Alberto Surra and Yari Montella in an intriguing battle, with Lowes crossing the line in P5 just 1.3s away from the seventh Superpole race podium of his career.

With mistakes unfolding ahead of him in the early stages of the 23-lap Race 2, Lowes patiently built up his pace, and his strategy was beginning to pay off when he rapidly closed in on twin brother Alex in a sibling showdown for fifth.

The 36-year-old decided to attack Alex at the final corner on lap 12, which sent him slightly off the optimal racing line heading for the exit.

As Lowes drifted a fraction wide, he lost the front of his Ducati Panigale V4R machine and crashed out of contention and the Briton retired three laps later having initially rejoined the action down in 18th spot.

“I was coming forward, trying to get into my rhythm, and I made a mistake while passing Alex” 

“Not much to say really. Obviously, the Superpole Race was a battle like always – I was just behind the group, this track is difficult to pass and I just wanted to finish the race in a nice way to get a good position for a Race 2. Then, in Race 2, honestly, I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike in the beginning, my first few laps I was struggling a bit with front grip. I made a few mistakes, and then I was coming forward, trying to get into my rhythm, and I made a mistake while passing Alex. I got it a little bit wrong, ran deep and crashed, a bit of a rookie error I guess you could say. It was a disappointing end to the weekend and I’m not happy about it, but let’s move on and take the positives into the next round.”