Sam Lowes (5th): The performance advantage of the factory Ducatis remains a mystery

Sam Lowes got off to a solid start to practice in Cremona. In the combined standings for both sessions, the Ducati rider finished 5th, 0.644 seconds behind leader Iker Lecuona on the factory Ducati.

Lowes’ direct rivals in the battle for third place in the World Championship did not have a flawless Friday and ended up in the gravel: his brother Alex Lowes (Bimota) crashed in FP2, whilst Yari Montella (Barni-Ducati) crashed in both FP1 and FP2.

Lowes ponders what the Aruba team is doing differently

“It wasn’t a bad Friday for me. However, the gap to the factory Ducatis remains significant,” Sam Lowes summed up during a meeting with SPEEDWEEK.com in Cremona. He was satisfied with his preparations for the races: “I did a good long run. I’ve worked hard, but I’m struggling to understand how the gap to the two factory riders has come about. The gap really is huge.”

Lowes suspects that the Aruba Ducati team has made progress with the set-up of the Panigale V4R since the test in Cremona. “Compared to the test, they’ve improved yet again. They’ve definitely found something. We need to understand that. I doubt that this difference is down to the riders. Let’s see if we can find something else.”

Given this gap, is third place already the best we can hope for in the races? “It’s been like this all season. The gap to those two is simply too big,” replied Lowes honestly. Nevertheless, he still sees a chance of a top-three finish: “I think I can fight for the podium here. I still need to improve in the second sector; I haven’t managed that very well so far. But I was one of the riders who did the longest stint. And my lap times weren’t too bad.”

Topic of the week

Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring: track – hit or miss?

The people of Madrid had set their sights high for their city’s first Formula 1 World Championship race since 1981. But have the high expectations for the new Madring mixed-circuit track really been met?

Read More

TV Program

Tomorrow

Cremona: Der Samstag

FIM Superbike World Championship

26.09.2026 - 09:35

Why were there so many crashes on Friday?

The numerous crashes on Friday didn’t surprise the Briton, given the conditions. “It’s a fairly compact circuit. You ride in the same gear for a long time. That’s why it’s difficult to manage the engine braking,” he explained.

“Even though it wasn’t really hot, it got a bit slippery in the afternoon. It’s a bit dirty off the racing line. You can easily make a mistake here. I felt like I was at the limit with the front tyre,” revealed the Marc VDS rider.

Lowes does not see Montella’s two crashes as giving him an advantage in the World Championship battle. “He had a crash at the start of FP2, but after that he set good lap times on his long run. That’s why I’m keeping them in mind here. They were also able to test here at the start of the year. But I think I can compete with them.”