BbKRT Tests At Cremona To Get ...

Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) quickly moved from the Magny-Cours race weekend a few days ago to join several other WorldSBK competitors for a one-day test at the Cremona Circuit, on Thursday 10 September.

Lowes and Bassani used the Cremona test as a familiarisation for the next round of the championships, which will be held at the same venue between 25-27 September. Regular team test rider Xavi Fores tested parts and settings on the KB998 Rimini to make preparations for next season, but he rode on Wednesday 9 September.

The bimota KB998 Rimini has already put both regular riders on the podium this year, but in an increasingly competitive WorldSBK environment, and after a recent reduction in the maximum fuel flow rate for bimota as a manufacturer, every opportunity to get out on track to work on pure set-up and performance, as well as race preparation, is important for the entire BbKRT squad.

Cremona is a relatively recent addition to the WorldSBK calendar, and can be characterised as a modern stadium-style circuit. It is a comparatively short 3.768 km in length, with 13 corners, mostly tight and geometrical in nature. The very long back straight breaks up the generally twisty nature of what will be the second Italian WorldSBK venue in 2026.

As has been the case on several occasions at tests this season, rain arrived to interrupt everyone’s schedule. Neither Alex nor Axel elected to ride on a fully wet track surface in the afternoon, but before that point Axel had set 39 laps and Alex 38.

Axel’s personal best lap time was a 1’29.262, making him the fastest non-Ducati rider in the timesheets. Alex set a best of 1’29.401, and was the next best non-Ducati rider.

With the next round, the tenth of a 12-round season, taking place at Cremona, the season will be completed by two rounds on the Iberian Peninsula, at Estoril and Jerez, on consecutive weekends in mid-October.

Alex Lowes, stated: “Unfortunately, we had bad weather in the afternoon, around lunchtime, but in the morning we had managed to start working at Cremona. I enjoyed riding the bike, and we managed to find a good direction for FP1 in a couple of weeks’ time. It was a positive test and a big thank you to the team for a great effort in coming to this test straight after the race weekend in Magny-Cours. I appreciate it. Let’s see if next time out we can get a bit closer to the podium.”

Axel Bassani, stated: “It was nice to jump on the bike again after the Magny-Cours race as it was quite a difficult one. We were lucky to do some laps in dry conditions, because the weather became not so good and it began to rain around midday. But we were able to check some different set-ups for the Cremona race. A short test but on the positive side we had the possibility to ride the track before the race and now we can focus on the race weekend, in two weeks’ time.”

Pere Riba, Crew Chief for Alex Lowes, stated: “We had some rain again and of course that was not lucky for everyone, because nearly all the main WorldSBK teams were testing. With Alex we made some laps in dry conditions, and collected some positive information. That has helped us create a starting point for the Cremona race weekend. It began raining hard from the middle of the day to the afternoon, so we didn’t test in wet conditions. This track has good grip but in a lot of places there was some water on the surface, so we decided to stay in the pit box. But the information in dry conditions was positive.”

Uri Pallares, Crew Chief for Axel Bassani, stated: “We had some dry time with Axel in the morning. We were working with some ideas to prepare for the race weekend here, but unfortunately we had to stop because the track conditions were not so good, with some puddles in some corners. A lot of water. We decided together with Axel not to take the risk because the race is close and the last time we rode with Axel in wet conditions, his feeling was OK, so we decided not to ride in the afternoon. But the test was positive because we have a good starting point for the Cremona round.”