With the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s 2025 season just around the corner, Sam Lowes and the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team hosted their team launch event on January 13^th in Belgium. At the event, the second year WorldSBK rider outlined his expectations for this season, as well as his impressions of WorldSBK compared to his past experience in Moto2™ as he looks to build on a rollercoaster rookie campaign in 2024.

2025 ASPIRATIONS: “I expect from this season to fight as close to the front as I can, obviously top Independent…”

Struggles with injuries and adapting to a new platform hampered Sam Lowes’ rookie season in 2024. The season got off to a tough start before even technically beginning after a nasty high-side crash at free practice three in at Phillip Island, beginning a trend of Lowes fighting through injuries in pursuit of staying in the competition. This offseason however has proven beneficial for him as it has given him time to focus on fully recovering his fitness and to in turn be able to focus on fine-tuning his skills on the back of his Ducati.

“When you’re riding injured, and things aren’t going good it’s a hard moment,” said the #14. “Every rider has the winter, but I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve been feeling good on the bike, so I definitely needed the winter to get healthy. I’m looking forward to getting going and I’m feeling in a better place than last year. I expect from this season to fight as close to the front as I can, obviously top independent. It seems like a big job considering last year, the end was difficult, but we had some good rides, so just to keep improving, improve my run and start adapting to the superbike and fight for the top positions.”

ADAPTING TO WorldSBK: Lowes opens up about his transition from Moto2™ to WorldSBK

Lowes competed for a combined eight years in Moto2™ before transferring to World Superbike while maintaining his partnership with the team he fought for the 2020 title with as the squad moved into WorldSBK. The transition to WorldSBK is a hurdle many riders struggle with, however Lowes, back in full physical health, looks forward to improving from last season.

Speaking on adapting to the Panigale V4 R machine from Moto2™, Lowes said: “Honestly, it’s bigger than I thought, I think now I’ve managed to understand it a lot more and change my way of thinking and training over the winter. The adaptation is going well but I think it needs to go a bit more, and I think when we get into the season with a few different people around me pushing me in a little bit of a different way we can keep going.”

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: Lowes speaks on where he most wants to improve

The English rider is confident in his platform’s ability to succeed, and a with his health now back in check, Lowes wants to continue to work on his fluidity and comfort atop the bike to propel him to success in 2025. With this in mind, he opened up about where he aims to find the biggest gains in his sophomore campaign.

He said: “The biggest thing last year was fitness; in the second half of the season I was struggling. My riding style, braking, the way you have to get the maximum from Superbikes especially Ducati, which everyone knows is obviously the best bike, is just to stop the bike better and use the bike’s strong points on the exit.”

Can the Brit make it onto the rostrum in 2025? Find out using the WorldSBK VideoPass!