Lowes: "I’m not going to ride for free", brother Sam "wants to come to WorldSBK"

Currently in Moto2 and already a race winner so far this season, Sam Lowes has been linked to the factory Yamaha seat that will become vacant after Toprak Razgatlioglu’s switch to BMW in 2024.

And although Yamaha have previously stated their intention to promote one of its current WorldSBK riders alongside Andrea Locatelli, Lowes and others such as Fabio Di Giannantonio could be in contention for a factory ride.

• “I’m not so good and don’t understand why” - Rea facing last sector problems 
• Yamaha won't allow Toprak Razgatlioglu to test with BMW until 2024

That doesn't mean Yamaha in particular, as Ducati and Kawasaki could also make changes next to Alvaro Bautista and Jonathan Rea, both of whom are already pencilled in at their current teams.

But Lowes, who could yet be replaced at Kawasaki after four seasons together, wants to remain in WorldSBK as long as the right opportunity arises.

"I'm not going to ride a bike for free," Lowes told WorldSBK.com. "I'll stay at home with my nice family and enjoy my life. I think that I'm riding good enough to stay in WorldSBK. I'm enjoying it enough. 

"I'm not too stressed to be honest, I know how hard I work. I know how well I'm riding and I know that I've also had a lot of years in World Superbike. 

"Hopefully, I’ll stay with Kawasaki and keep pushing, with Jonny, to get the bike consistently back on the podium and winning races. 

"This is what I would like to happen and I think that it could happen potentially, but at the minute, I'm not sure. Obviously, Toprak going to BMW has changed a lot of things."

Whether it’s Kawasaki at present or Yamaha in the past, Lowes has spent nearly his entire Superbike career as a factory rider, so therefore dropping down to a satellite team is not something that would likely interest Lowes.

Lowes continued by saying: "It's hard; I've been a factory rider in World Superbike for a long time, so I've had lots of good opportunities and I'm enjoying my riding as much as I'm riding. 

"I think if you compare me to the teammates, I'm being compared to one of the best ever with Jonny. 

"This year, sometimes I've been faster, sometimes he's faster, but I'm quite close. If you look at Locatelli to Toprak, Rinaldi to Bautista, they're never in front of the number one rider in the team. 

"So, if you look at this, I'm riding well, but this doesn't mean I'm going to keep a job or keep a contract. 

"There's lots of young guys who ride for not a lot of money or bring sponsors to teams or this type of thing."

When looking at his own prospects, but also those who could be his main rivals for factory seats in 2024, Lowes pointed to his brother who has spent the last six seasons, which includes 2023, in Moto2 following a nightmare stint with Aprilia in MotoGP. 

"Also, my brother wants to come to WorldSBK, so I need to fight him for a job! It would be nice if I can race against him next year.," said Lowes.

"This would be good for us. I don't know who they're going to put on Toprak’s bike. Obviously, I have a good relationship with Paul Denning. I’m close with him."