Elf Marc VDS Racing Team’s Sam Lowes had an unfortunate end to WorldSBK Race 1 at Cremona as he crashed out when avoiding another rider after an extremely promising qualifying performance.

• In a quiet start to the day, Sam posted just 6 laps in FP3, finishing in 24th, but the Briton was back to his best during Superpole. His best effort of 1’28.615 was good enough for an excellent 6th and he started Race 1 5th due to a penalty for another rider. This was the fourth time he’s qualified on the second row of the grid during his rookie WorldSBK campaign.
• The 34-year old then endured a tough start to the 17-lap Race 1, as he dropped to 11^th on the 1^st lap. Yet he soon found his rhythm and was eager to start recovering places at the start of lap 6.
• Yet a rider ahead made a mistake entering Turn 3 and nearly crashed. Just behind, Sam took action to avoid a collision, which put him on the dirty part of the track and led to him crashing, which prematurely ended his race.

“We can’t seem to find any luck”

“Obviously, it was a really disappointing end to the race. Another rider ahead nearly fell and I had to take avoiding action, went on the dirty part of the track and crashed. It was a mistake but it’s just the way it’s going at the moment. We can’t seem to find any luck. I’m just trying to keep my head down, work hard and wait for the good times to come. But there are some positives from today. I’ll start tomorrow’s Superpole race from 6^th again and we’ll keep working to improve. Thanks again to the team for their hard work and we’ll try again tomorrow.”