BbKRT Makes Progress At Misano...

bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team (BbKRT) continued its development and performance testing very shortly after the previous WorldSBK round in the Czechia, with a two-day track test at the Misano World Circuit - Marco Simoncelli between 20 and 21 May.

Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes rode their podium-proven bimota KB998R Rimini machines at the 4.226km long Misano circuit, which is very flat in nature but throws up a series of different corner types, including the very fast Curvone right-hander.

There were several WorldSBK machines, plus some from the WorldSSP Championship, sharing track time with the BbKRT squad at Misano, making this a useful comparison test as well as a development outing.

This was also a particularly useful test as the afternoon sessions were held in relatively hot ambient conditions, similar to those expected when the Misano round takes place in mid-June.

Axel was to be the fastest non-Ducati rider in sixth place overall, setting his fastest lap time of 1’32.430 in the morning of the final day. He was 0.661 seconds from the fastest rider, and runaway championship leader after five rounds, Nicolo Bulega. Axel completed 172 laps in all across the quartet of four-hour-long sessions at Misano.

Alex set 160 laps in total, and was ranked eighth fastest in the final combined times. His best lap was a 1’32.496, which put him just 0.727 seconds from the best time at this test.

The sixth round of WorldSBK will take place at Motorland Aragon, between 29-31 May. Misano hosts its own race weekend between 12-14 June.

Alex Lowes, stated: “We had a busy two days at Misano. We did 160 laps, so we were working hard. We started a bit later on the last day, rather than going out in the morning to use the grippy track. We decided to do more laps in the afternoon session, because I think the race weekend is going to be a bit hotter. I was really focused in the afternoon to have a good rhythm and I felt quite good. We tried a lot of things. A lot of times when you are testing you never find the perfect set-up because you focus a lot of time in trying to improve the bike, not just for this track but for the rest of the season. I am happy with the test, but of course we always want to be better, to be closer to the Ducatis. We improved our understanding of the bike, and I think we did a very good, consistent job over the two days. I want to say a big thank you to the team, especially coming here straight from the Most round. To all the guys in the team, both sides, a big thank you for the big effort to come and work for two days in such hot conditions.”

Axel Bassani, stated: “This two-day test was quite positive. We had some ups and downs, because we tried different things. In the end, our pace was quite good until the end. We had some difficulties to grow up a little bit in the two days, because we are quite on the limit, but I think we worked really well. We tried to understand which direction to take for the future, especially, and we also worked for the Misano race weekend. In the end, our conclusions are positive. We will keep going forward, happy, positive and continuing to work.”

Pere Riba, Crew Chief for Alex Lowes, stated: “The test was good and very hot. The track surface was 50°C during the day with a maximum of 53°C. On day one, we tried some components, as we had some new things to test. On the second day, we focused more on the set-up of the bike. Alex made a good job because it was quite tough in these very hot conditions. Everybody is very fast, so everybody is pushing quite hard. Alex was happy after the test and made a big effort to understand some of the items we tested. We are looking to go to the next race weekend in Aragon to keep on learning and improving the package.”

Uri Pallares, Crew Chief for Axel Bassani, stated: “We have had a couple of really positive days of testing at Misano. With Alex, we focused, from one side, on continuing to understand each other. Day-by-day, we are still learning what he requests to go fast and to understand him. This is a process, and we are making forward steps in this process. We also followed our test plan with some items regarding electronics and bike parts. In these two days, we focused on understanding much more the bike and trying to prepare for the weekend at Misano. It will be a home race for Bimota. We were fast from day one at this test, understood some new directions, and double-checked some ideas that we had in mind over the last few races. The work has been positive. Now, we move to Aragon - and I really want to thank the guys for the effort at this test, as it is not easy to go again after a race weekend. Everybody is tired - riders, mechanics, and staff. They do an amazing job, and I want to mention this because it is impressive.”