Elf Marc VDS Racing Team rider once again showed his speed and potential in this year’s WorldSBK Championship, with the Briton qualifying close to the front row and leading race one at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in just his second appearance on Ducati’s Panigale V4 R.

•  A sensational Superpole performance earlier today in Catalunya placed Lowes fifth on the grid for the opening 20-lap encounter and he was less than 0.2s away from securing a stunning maiden front row in WorldSBK.
• The 33-year-old then wasted no time at all in going on the offensive and a mesmerising early charge saw him seize the lead from former WorldSBK Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu at turn five on the third lap.
• Lowes set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:41.440 but his impressive challenge came to an unfortunate end when he crashed out of contention on lap five.

/// SAM LOWES: DNF

“It felt really nice to be fighting at the front and battling with the best”

“Firstly, I want to say sorry to the team for the mistake because today was a great opportunity for us. It felt really nice to be fighting at the front and battling with the best in WorldSBK. I got an amazing start and felt confident in the early laps, and it was such a great feeling to be leading for the first time. I’ve still got so much to learn with the performance of the Pirelli tyres and today was another lesson. The team has given me a great bike this weekend and I’m sure we can be strong and competitive again tomorrow.”