Moto2’s Sam Lowes ready for his WorldSBK move

Even going back to last month’s TT Assen, 32 year-old Englishman Sam Lowes, smack in the middle of the 2023 FIM MotoGP Moto2 world championship, felt like something big was coming his way.

“I still feel like I’ve got a lot to give,” said the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team Moto2 racer who won this year’s Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez last April. “I still have a lot of things that I want to add to the CV."

A Grand Prix pilot who has done time in MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 along the way, Lowes has recently spoken about his interest in one day competing in the FIM World Superbike Championship against brother and Kawasaki WSBK rider Alex Lowes.

“Definitely, one day it would be cool to race World Superbike,” said Lowes at the time “Me and Alex, we are real close and it would be fun. But I’m lucky to be in the best team here, so if I can do well and keep getting the results and stay competitive, it’ll be nice for me to stay here. But definitely in the next years I would like to race against Alex. If I can win and be competitive here, then this is obviously my first target. Before we both retire in a few years’ time, it would be nice to be head-to-head with each other and maybe even be teammates one day.”.

Lowes’ world was shaken up on Friday when word came down that the Englishman will call time on a 10-year grand prix career to participate in the World Superbike Championship with Marc VDS in 2024. The deal was officially confirmed on Thursday.

“I always had a goal to race in World Superbike and after winning the World Supersport title in 2013 it was a normal step,” said Lowes. “But I chose to try the Grand Prix paddock. I’m happy and proud that I’ve had such a good GP career, and I’ve enjoyed it a lot.

“But I feel now it’s a great time to move across to WorldSBK to try a different machine and learn how to ride a superbike. I believe in myself and know I can achieve good things. I have a lot to learn with the new category including the bike, the tires, and some new tracks. But I am very motivated and excited for this opportunity. I am very open-minded and ready to adapt and learn what I need to be competitive in WorldSBK.”

During his prolific Grand Prix career, Lowes has earned 10 wins, 26 podiums and 20 pole positions in the Moto2 classification with the Marc VDS Racing Team.

“It’s a privilege to ride for Marc VDS Racing Team and to make this step together is a great feeling, as I am sure it can be a strong and top team in WorldSBK as well,” said Lowes. “I am very grateful to Marc van der Straten for trusting me to start this new project. We have a great relationship; we have achieved some nice things together and we aim for many more!”

Further fortifying Lowes’ 2024 WSBK adventure will be the fact that Marc VDS has lined up Ducati Panigale machinery. Ducati raced away with the 2022 WorldSBK title and is currently running roughshod in the division in 2023 with ace Alvaro Bautista.

“The Ducati is performing very well in many categories now, and they are doing an amazing job,” Lowes said on Friday. “To be able to use their bike will be great, and if you look at the history in WorldSBK, many British riders have had amazing results with Ducati, so it’s already a big motivation for me.”

Over the moon with his new racing reality, Lowes will now focus on the final stretch of his Moto2 career.

“We still have 12 races to go this season and I’m a little sad to only have that many left as it’s an amazing class," he said.

"We have shown good speed this year, but not quite got the end result every weekend. I have some goals I want to achieve and some stats I want to my name. I’m fully motivated to finish in the best possible way. We are leading the Teams’ Championship and I want to fight for top three in the overall rider standings and help win the Teams’ title. That would be a great end to my GP career.”