The opening round of the 2026 WorldSBK campaign in Australia came to a painful conclusion for Elf Marc VDS Racing Team rider Sam Lowes after he crashed out of podium contention in treacherously wet conditions during a dramatic Race 2

Lowes was well on course to register his first podium of the season at a soaked Phillip Island when he fell at high speed off his Ducati Panigale V4R machine at turn three when running in third position.

Medical checks later revealed Lowes suffered a left wrist fracture and contusions.

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

Sunday’s action got off to a flying start for Lowes when he set one of only two laps in the 1:28 bracket to claim a morale boosting first place in the morning Warm-Up session.

With rain in the air, the 10-lap Superpole Race started and finished in dry conditions and Lowes was right in the heart of a nail-biting podium battle with brother Alex and Yari Montella.

Lowes held third spot for the opening two laps before being edged back to fifth on lap three and he eventually took the chequered flag just over 0.4s away from the podium after setting his fastest lap on the last lap in a brilliant effort to get through on Alex and Montella again.

Race 2 over the full distance of 22 laps was run on a drenched Phillip Island track but Lowes was superbly managing the tricky conditions to move into third with a sensational attack on Axel Bassani through the fast turn three on lap four.

Lowes was quickly able to establish an advantage of over a second back to the Italian before the slippery conditions caught him out on lap eight and he crashed out of contention at the fast turn three left-hander.

Unfortunately, the 35-year-old was diagnosed with a left wrist fracture, and he will return to the UK for further assessment and treatment with the clear goal to be fully fit and ready for round two at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal in late March.

“I can still take a lot of positives from an eventful weekend”

“It’s obviously disappointing to come away from the opening round with an injury and a missed chance to get on the podium in Race 2 but the conditions were really difficult. I felt good going into it though after a really good battle for the podium in the Superpole Race. I didn’t quite have enough at the end to make the difference and get into the top three, but it was another solid ride. The conditions changed a lot for Race 2 and in the early laps I was just figuring out how the bike was going to perform. This was the first time I’d ridden the new bike in the wet and it highlighted some areas we need to work on in the future. I felt good though and had got myself into a strong position when I had a big crash in turn three. It can happen in those conditions, but it was a very big crash. It was one of the biggest I’ve had for a long time, so I feel lucky to be relatively okay. I can still take a lot of positives from what has been an eventful weekend but now it’s all eyes on Portugal and getting myself in the best shape possible for the next round.”