Sam Lowes
races left in the season Lowes is absolutely in with a shout of closing that gap.
MARC VDS Misano had also been a disaster for Marc VDS Ducati’ s Sam Lowes and had put a serious dent in his chances of challenging Montella for 3rd overall and independent rider honours. Despite this, Lowes has performed at least as well as expected in 2026 and extension of his contract into 2027 was announced as part of recent World Ducati Week events. The team came to Round 8 just days after the death of legendary team owner, Marc van der Straten, the name behind Marc VDS in Moto2, WorldSBK and more recently EWC. VDS was a widely admired figure in the paddock and the whole WorldSBK paddock came together to show their respect for him with a minute’ s applause on Sunday morning at Donington. Qualifying in 4th and maintaining that position in Race 1 was a good opening to the weekend but the highlight for Lowes, and the team, was his 3rd place finish in the Sprint Race
88 KIWI RIDER