After the first five competitive rounds of the 2025 FIM Superbike World Championship season have been completed the forthcoming Misano track sessions will fulfill a variety of needs for the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team.

As the KB998 Rimini machine is a completely new entry in the WorldSBK championship this year the ability to get out on track again with regular riders Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani is particularly important. Testing days in WorldSBK are strictly limited by regulation, so for a new project like BbKRT this opportunity to try new things is a significant one.

As so many of BbKRT’s WorldSBK rivals will also be at the forthcoming Misano test these two days at the classic 4.226km long circuit near the Adriatic coast will also offer a true measure of outright performance capabilities.  

After some strong race performances from Axel and Alex this season each of the BbKRT riders will be hoping to turn potential into increased pace in simulated race conditions to make another step towards ultimate competitiveness.

Last but not least, this test will allow the team to make specific machine set-up changes to take on the next round of the season, which will be held at Misano between 13-15 June. This will be a more significant round than most for the BbKRT project, especially in human terms, as it forms an almost literal home round for bimota.

Alex Lowes, stated: “This is an important test for us. We now have some experience of how the KB998 performs during race conditions at a variety of circuits. So our focus is to improve on some of our weaker areas. Also, we will have one eye on the race weekend at Misano. We will be preparing ourselves the best we can for that. It’s a great track to ride and I can’t wait to get to work.”

Axel Bassani, stated: “We have two days to test at Misano - at home. They will be two important days because the next race weekend will also be at Misano. We have something to try and there will be a lot of work to do. We will see if Alex and I will go in the same way, as that will make the work more easy to understand and help the project grow. I like the layout of Misano and it is always special to ride at home. I want to go on track to enjoy it without the stress of race weekend. We can work with a free mind and I hope we can find a good solution for Misano itself, but especially for the rest of the season.”

Guim Roda, BbKRT Team Manager, stated: “This Misano test is, as every year, a classic one to prepare for the race weekend. Is a very good opportunity to check the bike set-up because all the other riders will be there. Everyone can check everyone else’s lap times and we can evaluate the performance of the test items. It is almost certain that the weather conditions will be much hotter three weeks from now, when we go back to Misano for the race weekend. But, in the development stage we are with the bimota project, any track time is gold for us. This is particularly true if we can use our regular WorldSBK riders. Due to track time limits in the regulations we cannot test with them as often as we would like.”