Sam Lowes says he is relaxed about the prospect of his career path leading to the WorldSBK Championship as rumours persist that he is poised to make the switch from Moto2 in 2024.

Lowes currently competes as the most experienced rider on the 2023 Moto2 grid, the Englishman now in his ninth season as part of the intermediate class with 143 starts to his name.

One of only four riders to have won a Moto2 race this season - together with Tony Arbolino, Pedro Acosta and Jake Dixon - Lowes is enjoying one of his stronger campaigns in what is also his fourth season with the front-running Marc VDS Racing team.

>>> 2023 WorldSBK Championship Standings <<<

However, unlike the aforementioned trio, Lowes is neither in the frame for a graduation to MotoGP next season nor is he actively seeking one, his fingers having been burnt by a single ill-fated season with Aprilia in 2017.

Recognising his tenure in Moto2 is bound to come to an end in the relative near future, though Lowes is keen to remain in the Grand Prix paddock, he is canvassing options elsewhere too with WorldSBK - where his twin brother Alex Lowes is an established contender on the factory Kawasaki - the most likely option.

“There's no chance of me going to MotoGP again now. I’m not even thinking about it,” he told sister publication Crash.net in an exclusive interview.

“I just think for the future I want to ride as much as I can. So if I have the chance to go [to WorldSBK] in a nice situation, I'm definitely going to think about it.

“Then again, if Tony and Pedro go to MotoGP and I stay [in Moto2], I’m not in a bad position!” he joked.

WorldSBK stars aligning for Lowes, Marc VDS?

Talk of a possible switch to the WorldSBK Championship next season comes in tandem with speculation Marc VDS Racing is considering branching out into the production-based series next year.

While it isn’t clear whether this would come in addition to its Grand Prix exploits or instead of it, Marc VDS - which has previously dovetailed its two-wheel commitments with four-wheel sportscar competition - is understood to be in negotiations with Ducati to secure a Panigale V4 R supply for 2024 with Lowes earmarked as its rider.

However, a stumbling block could emerge over Ducati’s capacity to supply more bikes to the WorldSBK grid.

As it stands, it supplies to three privateer teams - Barni Racing, Go Eleven and Motocorsa Racing - and a sixth Panigale V4 R for Marc VDS in factory-spec could be a stretch for the Italian firm. Then again, there is also talk that Barni Racing is keen to double up for 2024, potentially as a way of accommodating ex-MotoGP Andrea Iannone once his four-year suspension for doping ends at the end of this year.

A WorldSBK move would see Lowes return to the paddock for the first time in more than a decade, the Englishman having been a title winner in the 2013 WorldSSP Championship with Yakhnich Yamaha.