Three podium finishes in three races completed a truly unforgettable weekend for Sam Lowes and the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team in the Dutch WorldSBK round at Assen

Third in a dramatic Race 1 on Saturday afternoon, Lowes was third in today’s Superpole clash and a trio of top three finishes was secured in the full distance Race 2 to complete his best weekend since joining the WorldSBK ranks in 2024

A milestone weekend for the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team ended with Lowes climbing to third in the series standings on 82-points heading to round four at the Balaton Park track in Hungary on the first weekend of May

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

It was a chilly start to the Sunday race schedule with temperatures only 11 degrees when Lowes blasted off from the front row of the grid for the 10-lap Superpole Race, which followed a similar pattern to yesterday’s Race 1.

With rain spots once again falling during the action, Lowes spent the entire encounter in third position behind Championship leader Nicolo Bulega and his factory Ducati stablemate Iker Lecuona.

Race 2 started in cloudy and cool conditions, but Lowes was red-hot off the line from third and he passed Lecuona in the drag race to turn one before lunging on the inside of Bulega at the second corner to lead.

The Briton was in full attack mode to keep himself at the front of the field until lap three before Lecuona found his way through and he was quickly followed by an unstoppable Bulega.

Just as he did in Race 1 and the Superpole battle, Lowes settled into a fast rhythm that meant he was completely unchallenged in third position, with Alvaro Bautista nearly four seconds back in fourth spot.

Today’s outstanding performance was just the second time in his WorldSBK career that Lowes has claimed a double Sunday podium, and the 35-year-old played a pivotal part in Ducati locking out the top three in all three races on a fairytale weekend for the Bologna brand.

“We need to enjoy moments like this”

“It has been a brilliant weekend for myself and Elf Marc VDS Racing and we can be happy to have finished on the podium in all three races. That’s the first time I’ve been able to do that in WorldSBK, and it is a very nice feeling for everybody involved in the project. After the podium yesterday it was important to finish the job with two more good races today and I’m happy with how I managed it. The Ducati was clearly a very strong package in Assen but I’m proud to have been able to push the factory squad. I still need to make a step, but we need to enjoy moments like this and carry this confidence and momentum into Hungary. Balaton Park was a great track for me last year and I came away with a couple of podiums, so we can go there in a really positive mood and look to do another good job.”