BbKRT Heading To Classic Circuit For Round Three

The 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship will reach its third round in a few days’ time, with the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team (BbKRT) pairing of Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes making their final preparations to compete at the truly classic TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands.

It has already been a rewarding start to the season for the bimota KB998 Rimini and its two official riders, with Axel and Alex each having taken podium finishes in the second year of the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team project.

Currently Axel sits third in the championship, with two podiums to his credit, while Lowes is now up to fifth place overall, having taken a podium in the Tissot-Superpole race at Phillip Island. Alex is 12 points behind his team-mate in the early stages of the year with ten rounds - including Assen - still to go.

The latest challenge for BbKRT to face is the unique 4.542km Assen layout, which is situated in the north of mainland Europe. Truly historic, yet also frequently updated over the decades, Assen has already hosted 71 individual WorldSBK races. Many victories have only been decided by a last-gasp manoeuvre at the famous Geert Timmer Chicane, and in full view of the main grandstands.

The Assen layout features an official 18 corners, with a generally slow section at the beginning and then some traditional fast sweepers and curves that are a reminder of the circuit’s original roots as a ‘real’ road course. Being a very flat circuit, and feeling wide open in many places, Assen is a profound contrast to the very hilly Portimao layout that the teams last raced on at the end of March.

Assen will be the first WorldSBK venue in 2026 that the BbKRT team has not tested at before the first two Free Practice sessions take place on Friday, 17 April.

Saturday’s action will feature FP3, then Tissot Superpole Qualifying, followed by the first 21-lap WorldSBK race of the weekend. Sunday, 19 April will host the ten-lap Tissot Superpole Race and then a second 21-lap Race Two.

Alex Lowes stated: “I am looking forward to Assen, which is a fantastic event. The crowds are always amazing for us this time of year. Hopefully, the weather is consistent. We have had some really good weekends there in terms of weather, and some not so much, but whatever the conditions are, I am excited and looking forward to it. It is a different kind of track to Portimao. You need the bike to really turn well under power, especially in the middle section of the lap. It needs that ‘old school’ get off the brakes and let the bike flow approach and it is always a track that I have really enjoyed. I feel like I have always been fast in Assen but probably never got the results that the speed has shown. Hopefully, this weekend we can fight for the podium. That is the target - to be back on the podium. I want to work hard with all the guys in the team, enjoy it and try to get the best results possible. I am excited to get there and get started.”

Axel Bassani stated: “Assen can be a good track for us, and last year the sensation was good. This year I think we will arrive a little bit more prepared. We know the bike a little bit better and the first two rounds went quite well. We have to keep calm and continue to work, especially for me with my team and my new crew chief. Every race weekend we learn something more. We have to be positive and I am also happy to go to race on a track like Assen, that I like a lot. It is a really fast track, with a lot of quick corners. Only the first part is quite small, but the rest of it is really fun. We will try to give our maximum and have the best weekend we can.”