Sam Lowes expects to fight at the front this weekend in the World Superbike season opener.

The first day of the 2025 World Superbike season was a promising showing from Sam Lowes at Phillip Island. The British rider ended the day in seventh place in the combined practice times from FP1 and FP2.

At the end of the day, Lowes confirmed that he had made a step from the test and had decided what tyres he would use in the race on Saturday.

"It was a good day for us, we have made some steps forward from the test which is positive," Lowes told WorldSBK.com.

"In the afternoon conditions when the track got a bit hotter it felt greasy to start with. But we figured it out and it looks like the Ducati was good in those conditions, we were all quite strong. Let's see tomorrow the forecast looks quite warm a bit of a step on from today.

"We think we have found a good direction and we are fixed on our tyre choice for the race. Qualifying is obviously different but we will try to make a good job of that and be near the front."

Lowes also went on to comment that the Ducati works well in the hot Australian conditions. However, the British rider knows that the heat will also benefit his rival Ducati riders as well as himself.

"When the temperature goes up it suits our bike as we can keep the momentum going. The race is always different, the guys on the Ducati's [Andrea] Iannone, [Nicolo] Bulega, and [Alvaro] Bautista, suit this track better and have been strong here in the past.

"There is no reason for it but the bike works so it is nice to be on one of them. I need a little bit in sector four so I will try and figure that out tonight, see if we can improve there and then we should be in the mix."