Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) will not take part in any action at the Pirelli Portuguese Round following his crash at Most a few weeks ago. On the approach to Turn 1, the #14 had a massive highside which left him with a fractured left collarbone and ruled him out of Race 2 in the Czech Republic. Despite receiving treatment on the injury, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship rookie won’t race in Portugal.

In a press release shared on Tuesday afternoon, the team said: “Sam Lowes and the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team will not participate in the seventh round of the 2024 WorldSBK Championship at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal this weekend. The British rider suffered a fractured left collarbone when he fell heavily during Race 2 at last month’s Most round in the Czech Republic. Lowes has been undergoing round the clock treatment with the intention to compete in Portimao this weekend. The 33-year-old is recovering well, but after consulting with his medical team it has been decided the best course of action is to miss the Portuguese round to allow the left collarbone more time to fully heal. The Elf Marc VDS Racing Team is confident Lowes will be fit to take part in two days of official WorldSBK testing at Estoril in August in preparation for the race weekend at the Portuguese track in mid-October.”

Lowes’ rookie campaign has shown positive signs, leading in Barcelona on pace and fighting in the top ten, although he’s yet to get on the podium. He’s taken a best result of sixth in Race 2 at Assen and sits 15^th in the Championship standings with 40 points, just six behind Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) ahead and a further four behind Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) in 13^th.