Elf Marc VDS Racing Team star Sam Lowes completed a hugely positive Portuguese round of the 2026 WorldSBK Championship in Portimão today with a pair of top five finishes in the Superpole encounter and Race 2

Lowes took the chequered flag as the top Independent Team rider across all three races at the Algarve International Circuit, with his weekend starting and finishing strongly after he’d topped both Practice sessions on Friday.

The trio of top performances from Lowes in Portugal has moved him from ninth to sixth in the World Championship rankings heading to the third round at the legendary Assen track in the Netherlands next month

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

After leading the way in both practice sessions on Friday and then battling to a superb fifth place in Race 1, Lowes made an impressive start to the Sunday schedule when he finished in second position in the morning Warm Up outing.

The 10-lap Superpole Race got underway in gloriously sunny conditions and Lowes found himself locked in an intense early battle with Yari Montella and Xavi Vierge.

Lowes passed Vierge on lap four to climb into the top six and three laps later he moved into fifth position before two rapid laps in the 1.39 bracket late on secured him a hard earned P5 at the chequered flag.

Race 2 was always going to be a tough affair for Lowes over the longer distance of 20 laps given he is still in recovery mode after suffering hand and wrist fractures last month during the season opener in Australia, but the Briton once again was immediately in the hunt for the top six.

Running sixth in the early stages, the 35-year-old found himself promoted to fifth when Montella tumbled out of contention on lap four at turn five.

Lowes then settled into a consistent rhythm and ensured he rode a controlled and mistake free race to cross the line with another 11 valuable World Championship points collected.

“It’s been tough but I’m really happy with the results”

“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 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. 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.”