After a 10-year stint in the grand prix paddock that brought him 10 wins from 155 starts, Sam Lowes had found himself almost part of the furniture throughout his career in the Moto2 championship. However, in 2024, Lowes decided to make a change and departed to join his beloved MarcVDS team for its maiden WorldSBK endeavour following four successful seasons together.
There are plenty of riders who have been on a journey throughout their careers and will have to take a gamble to find exactly where they belong. Most of the time, there will be ups and downs, injury troubles, and seat uncertainties. The rise of unsuspecting opportunities can lead to unexpected results.
Sometimes partnerships, like Lowes and MarcVDS, are just meant to be.
Although some teething problems marred his debut campaign, with injury struggles compounding a difficult adaptation to the satellite Ducati machinery, 2025 proved that the British rider was right to make the move across.
In his second season, Lowes has shown he has the pace to challenge at the very top of the game. Scoring five podiums alongside his first WorldSBK pole position at Donington Park, the Lincoln-born rider has finally started to feel like the Superbike paddock is the right place for him.
“I’ve definitely felt a lot more at home this year,” Lowes told Motorsport Week.
“Last year, there were a lot of unknowns, and also some injuries, and I didn’t quite gel with everything, so it took me a bit to get going.
“This year, overall, I feel like I’ve been a lot more competitive, and when you’re more competitive, you enjoy it a lot more, so it’s obvious. But I do feel like I’m starting to understand it a lot.
“Honestly, it’s such a different bike. I know it’s well obvious to say, but it’s such a different bike than the Moto2 bike: electronics-wise, the weight of the bike, speed of the bike. When I first jumped on it, I was fast straight away, fast-ish, but it’s that last bit that’s hard.
“With some injuries last year, and not quite gelling with it, it took a bit longer than expected. I know how strong the Superbike class is, so I didn’t expect it to be easy, but this year I understand a lot more. I feel like we’re in the right way and good overall.”
The 35-year-old’s swift progression from the WorldSBK midfield into the mix can be partly credited to regaining familiarity with Superbike machinery after prior experience in the domestic BSB series, as well as on the world stage in the WorldSSP300 championship.
Lowes himself also credits his upward trajectory to assistance from a very familiar name.
In 2014, while Lowes was making his debut in the Moto2 championship, his twin brother Alex made his first appearance on the WorldSBK stage as a member of the factory Suzuki team. Both brothers achieved success, with Alex taking four victories and 50 podiums for three different manufacturers, while Sam garnered his own triumphs in the intermediate grand prix class.
2024 marked the reunion of the pair in championship-level racing after a decade of competing in separate series. Naturally, comparisons were immediately drawn between the two despite one riding a Ducati and the other aboard a Kawasaki-turned-Bimota. Alex Lowes won the duel in the 2024 season, and although Sam improved in 2025, an untimely injury at the end of the campaign means Alex extended his lead in their head-to-head 2-0.
So what is it like for the twin brothers to meet on the track?
“I tell you what, it’s a lot better this year because last year he beat me every week, so it was s***,” Lowes jokedbefore following it up with a more serious response about their brotherly bond.
“Me and him have a unique relationship. I think everyone who has brothers and sisters knows that, but being twins, we’ve spent all of our lives together until we were 16-17, we were never apart. Same hobbies, same interests, same job, in the end, we’re very similar people, so it’s not often you find that in racing.
“We’ve never argued in 35 years, so we get along well. When I see him on track, of course, I want to beat him and he wants to beat me. Naturally, I’ll probably give him a bit more respect on certain corners and overtakes as he does to me, but it’s a privilege, honestly.”
Both Sam and Alex have found form since the former’s switch to the WorldSBK paddock. Although both are “proud” of being front-runners over the past two years, they have yet to share the podium with their respective peaks coming at different circuits.
However, after three-time World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu’s departure to MotoGP, there is a bigger chance than ever before for the brothers to achieve their “main goal” of making it to the podium together on the world stage.
“It’s something that we’re really proud of, the fact that we’re both in WorldSBK, not at the front but near the front, podiums and top fives. Many times we’ve been third and fourth, so it’s something that we should be proud of. I think that, definitely, in the years going forward, we can look back and do it. But our main goal now is to get on the podium together.
“I’ve definitely used him a lot in this adaptation. He’s been here a long time; 2014 was his first year in WorldSBK so he’s done a lot of races. He’s got a lot of experience with the tyres, the bike, the class, so I’ve definitely leaned on him a lot the last two years to gain that information and ride together.
“This year I’ve been a little bit more competitive than last year. We’ve been able to work together in some sessions, obviously I don’t have a team-mate because MarcVDS for now is a one rider team, so sometimes it’s been good to get a little cheeky tow now and then.”
The Lowes brothers are part of a long list of British riders who have competed in the WorldSBK championship, with the country having an affinity for Superbikes. Britain currently boasts four full-time riders on the WorldSBK bike (the second-most behind Italy with nine), and will be adding a new name to its ever-expanding list.
Six-time Moto2 winner Jake Dixon joins the twins in 2026, having announced a multi-year deal with the factory Honda team. Dixon had duelled with Lowes many times in the pair’s respective careers in the intermediate grand prix class.
The 35-year-old will welcome his former rival into the paddock and offer advice to Dixon should he need it, although he suspects it won’t be anything similar to his own adaptation.
“Of course we’ve spoken about it,” Lowes said. “Jake’s ridden Superbikes in the past. We’ll speak a bit. In the end, I’m more of an open book than a lot of riders, just talking about it doesn’t mean they can do it. If he asks me about something, then I’ll tell him. Obviously, nothing like with Alex, I won’t be riding around with him or in sessions because it’s different, isn’t it? But Jake’s sound.
“He’s obviously come with Honda, and it’s hard to know with Honda, they change a lot. They could come out next year and be amazing, or it could be like now, so I wish him the best. It’s nice to have another Brit in the paddock. The good thing with Jake is he’s ridden Superbikes before, so he’ll have a bit more knowledge.”
With Dixon following Lowes’ into WorldSBK, it not only increases the British presence in the Superbike paddock but also means that there will be no riders competing in the Moto2 class for the first time since its inception in 2010.
British interest in MotoGP has steadily declined since the pandemic, with attendance at Silverstone falling every year since 2022. Despite boasting the second-highest number of world titles in grand prix racing, no British rider has won a race in MotoGP since Cal Crutchlow at the 2018 Argentine Grand Prix, and the country has not fielded a full-time rider since his subsequent retirement at the end of the 2020 season.
Only two riders, Scott Ogden and Eddie O’Shea, will participate on the grand prix ladder in 2026, both in the Moto3 World Championship. O’Shea had initially been expected to depart from the MLav Racing Team, a team founded by former racer and TNT Sports pundit Michael Laverty in a bid to allow British talent to flourish in the lower classes, but has since been given a further season. While both riders have shown potential early in their careers,
it’s likely to be a long road until the next British talent finds themselves with an opportunity to make it into MotoGP.
Lowes, who raced in the premier class back in 2017 aboard a struggling Aprilia, believes it will be difficult to recover from the rider drought, which has been exacerbated by the is a lack of adaptation time and opportunities given to British riders.
“It’s sad. I was lucky, honestly, when I went. So I went from WorldSSP across like [Adrian] Huertas did this year, and it was tough with the bikes and that, but I was lucky I did quite well. I finished sixth or something in my first race, which is acceptable, no?
“But the problem now is that there’s no one willing to take a chance on a Brit, like a good team. I went with a good team, so that’s half the battle. Now the Brits, I’m not saying are not getting opportunities because I know [there’s] Dorna and Laverty, there’s a lot of people doing a lot for British riders and that’s great. But they get a year, half a year and it’s not enough.
“If the Brits got more of a chance, at least two years, get the second year, because the second year is so much easier than the first year, because some of those guys don’t know the tracks. So it is sad and it’s hard to see in the next few years how it’s going to change so much.
“What’s sad at the minute is that there’s no one in Moto2, now Jake’s out, so f***. It’s miles away for somebody to get to MotoGP. Because somebody’s got to get through Moto3. We’ve got Casey O’Gorman [riding under the Irish flag], he’s a good rider, but now he’s going into Moto3, a couple of years in Moto2, so we’re years off someone going there so that’s sad.”
Lowes also highlighted how a lot of British riders bidding to make the step into the grand prix paddock face are often hindered by economics. In many cases, riders have to pay for an opportunity in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes and have sometimes been pushed out if there is a rider who can bring a more beneficial package to a team. However, many British riders also receive more lucrative offers from the BSB and WorldSBK paddocks, which have the contract security and a regular, fixed salary that is often unheard of in the world of MotoGP.
So does the Brit think the financial incentive of riding in BSB means fewer British riders take the risk of heading to the grand prix ladder?
“I think it’s exactly that,” he admitted. “I think the top guys that are talented enough and in the right moment to come across and go [to MotoGP] and suffer for a couple of years to make it also have contracts here or in BSB waved [at them] where they’re earning good money… rather than going to risk a bit for a couple of years and then coming here.
“There’s always a way isn’t there, I hope they can find a way. It’s got to be the young kids and the teenagers now that we look at to try and get them a way through. We have to give them a consistent chance and not just a small opportunity.”
While the opportunities for some riders remain few and far between, Lowes continues to take the chance he’s been given in WorldSBK. After showcasing an increased level of performance in 2025, the British rider admits he is optimistic that he can improve even further ahead of his third season.
When asked about his goals for the 2026 campaign, Lowes admitted: “I’d like to be sitting here telling you about the few races that I’ve won and fighting for top three in the championship and making a step up for 2025. I think yes [it’s obtainable], I think that some rules, especially in the last races [of the season], have gone against the satellite Ducatis so I hope we can fix that a bit for next season.”
There has been heavy speculation about what the WorldSBK championship will look like after three-time and reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu confirmed his departure to MotoGP. Many expect twice runner up Nicolo Bulega to be the man to take the reins and dominate, but Lowes is still anticipating a “great year” ahead with new names likely to be challenging at the front.
“I know the riders I’m riding against. I know what I’ve achieved in my career now, what I achieved this year with the front rows that shows that the speed is already there this yeart. There’s no reason why we can’t make that little step and be fighting for it.
“I know that Toprak leaving is sad for the championship, but [Miguel] Oliveira is coming in, [Danilo] Petrucci is on the BMW so they’ve got a great lineup, I think [Iker] Lecuona on the Ducati as well. I think it can be a great year but we’ll be sitting here talking about some race wins and being top three in the world, and having lots of fun.”
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