At the Misano round of WorldSBK in mid-June, a landmark step for the bimota racing project was achieved.

After fourteen months of hard work developing and racing the new KB998 Rimini machine, BbKRT (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) had not one but two major successes across two days of intense competition.

Billed as bimota’s “home race” due to the proximity of the Rimini factory, there were three superbike, one on Saturday and a “sprint” plus full distance race on Sunday.

With temperatures higher than at a previous test session at Misano – and track temperature being recognised a limiting factor for performance – expectations were set accordingly.

However, Italian BbKRT rider, Axel Bassani, obviously had other ideas and posted a time in the Superpole qualifying that had him and the KB998 Rimini on the front row for the first race of the weekend; an amazing achievement. Teammate, Alex Lowes added his stamp to that race by achieving fourth place, equalling his and the team’s best result of the season just one place shy of the podium.

More was to come.

On Sunday, two races were scheduled and it was in the ten lap Superpole “sprint” race that Alex Lowes raised the bar bringing his KB998 Rimini home in second place to mount the podium for the first time for the BbKRT team thus achieving bimota’s first podium for twenty five years; a landmark moment.

As the bimota dealer network grows across Europe, the results from Misano add yet more energy to the appeal and accessibility of the bimota range illustrating how racing helps promote the brand.

Alex Lowes: “I am really happy for the team to get a podium. Everyone is working hard at the track, away from the track, so to take a podium finish is a good indication of our progress”.

Axel Bassani: “We have to feel positive because FP3 was good, Superpole was much better than usual and we started from the first row. That is not easy now given the level of WorldSBK.”

Shigemi Tanaka, Chairman, bimota:

“The results at Misano for Alex and Axel are a real and visible sign of the evolution of the BbKRT racing project. More than that they serve to increase the visibility of the bimota brand in the minds of both the media and our potential customers who are now benefitting from the staged expansion of the European dealer network. Our racing supports our retail so we are naturally delighted to achieve such impressive results at this stage in our WorldSBK bimota project”

Pierluigi Marconi – Chief Operating Officer, bimota

“Misano is so local to our assembly facility that we call any race there a “home race”. The KB998 Rimini is, in many ways, a typical bimota; a machine that is designed to excel on the track and also be available for discerning customers to purchase. As customer orders are fulfilled and demand grows there could not have been a better endorsement of our design direction. Grazie Axel and Alex !”