Sam Lowes offers hope for 2025 after injury-disrupted season
“The first half of the year, before Most, I was happy because we were a bit more competitive…”
Sam Lowes’ debut WorldSBK campaign was hit by injury in the summer, but the British rider feels there is enough of a base to build on in year two.
Lowes started the season strongly and led multiple laps at the Catalan Round in only his second WorldSBK weekend, but a crash at Most in the summer saw him injure his shoulder, which caused him to miss multiple round and after which he struggled to regain his early-season form.
“The first half of the year, before Most, I was happy because we were a bit more competitive, fighting more near the front, and I felt good — like I was improving a bit,” Lowes reflected when speaking to WorldSBK.com.
“Then, when I got injured in Most, since then it was a difficult end of the year. I felt like my shoulder was alright, but I kept coming back and getting injured again.
“Obviously, I missed Portimao, and then I never really got the momentum back. My shoulder’s been struggling a little bit, but now I’m feeling better, and we have some time to recuperate the shoulder.”
Despite the difficulties faced in 2024, Lowes still sees the positives in his rookie WorldSBK campaign and feels there is reason to expect improvements in 2025.
“I’ve learned a lot, I need to change a few bits with my riding over the winter,” he said.
“The second year will be better, now I know more of the circuits, the situation, the bike, the tyres.
“Obviously, we know what we can do, and I’m just looking forward to it.
“I think it will be nice to fight more with Alex [Lowes] — he beat me a bit too much this year, so next year I’ll have to put that right.”
Some changes are coming for Lowes in 2025, with new people joining the Marc VDS team, and some setup changes ready to be tested this winter regarding ergonomics.
“We have a bit to test, just from the information this year to make me more comfortable on the bike — we have a different seat, different handlebar position just to start again a little bit with the setting,” he said.
“[We have to] test the shoulder out. I’ve got some new crew around me which will be positive, and I can’t wait to get that going.”
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
