Motorland Test Gets BbKRT Back On Track

A two-day test for the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team at the impressive Motorland Aragon facility finished on Tuesday, 26 August, with regular team riders Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani on track on the final day only. Test rider Xavi Fores had started the BbKRT track action on Monday.

After a month with no track action for either BbKRT rider, since the previous round in Hungary in late July, the first order of business at Motorland was to get back into the groove, before starting on overall development and race set-up testing.

The first day of action, with test rider Xavi Fores, saw first wet and then dry weather conditions arrive at the Spanish circuit located in the high desert of the historic Aragon region.

The 5.077km long layout was bathed in very hot weather conditions for most of the second day, which delivered track temperatures of over 50°C.

Axel and Alex evaluated some development material for the bimota KB998 Rimini machine, which is in its first year of WorldSBK competition. Running on race tyres, Alex set his best time of the test - a 1’49.682 - in the slightly less hot morning session. Axel’s best single lap of 1’50.396 was also set in the opening session of the final day.

More rain finally arrived very near the end of the second day, although almost all of the test workload had been completed by that stage, effectively ending what was a very busy test for all involved.

The next round of the championship will take place at Magny Cours in France, between 5-7 September. Motorland Aragon will then host the tenth round of the WorldSBK season, between 26-28 September.

Alex Lowes, stated: “It has been really nice to get back together with Team 22, all the rest of the team, and to be back on track with Axel. We did just the second day of the test, and it was hot. In the middle of the day, I think we had 34-35°C air temperatures and 55°C track temperatures. We know this track could be one of the more difficult ones for us, so it was important to come here and test. I felt quite good on the bike, so it was nice to get back out on track and get a few laps under our belts before we come back here to race for the first time with the bimota KB998 Rimini. We tried some small things with the front of the bike, some different things from Showa, and we made some small steps. But in general, it was mostly about getting back up to speed and trying the bike for the first time in Aragon. Now we are ready for the next round in Magny Cours. A big thank you to all the team, as they worked really hard.”

Axel Bassani, stated: “We have now finished our test day at Motorland Aragon, and we tried a lot of things, especially for the races when we come back here in September. It was really hot in Motorland, so the conditions were difficult. We tried a lot and worked hard with all the team. I feel good for the next round in Magny Cours, where I think we can do a good job. We will try our best as always.”

Pere Riba, Crew Chief for Alex Lowes, stated: “We have been doing a two-day test, the first one with the test team and Xavi Fores. We are, of course, in the first year of development with the bike and we are always thinking about how to improve. On day one, unfortunately, there was some rain. We have had maybe one month with no rain and it started raining now! Anyway, this is part of our game. We tested all the items that we wanted to and Xavi did a good job of providing all the information, which was positive. With Alex, we focused mainly on the base set-up for the race weekend in Motorland next month, and at the same time, evaluate a couple of items that we wanted to test. Alex put in a good effort and did over 80 laps. Then in the end of the day, there were some drops of rain, that meant we could not work with the soft tyre, as we had been working with race tyres. We have a starting point for the Motorland race and that was one of the targets. Alex was happy to ride because in the summer break it is always good to go to the track to make some laps before the season restarts. Alex was riding well and the test was quite positive, so I am pleased.”

Marcel Duinker, Crew Chief for Axel Bassani, stated: “It was good to be back on the track after the summer break. In the first part of the season with this new project, we learned a lot of things when discovering the potential of this bike. So it is the correct moment now to do a test. Thanks to bimota and Kawasaki for their efforts in bringing all this new material to the track. Most things were tested today, and with positive results, so once again I want to say thank you for all the effort from Kawasaki and bimota in preparing for this test. We are looking forward to the final part of the 2025 season and I am confident we can be strong and finish well. Overall, we have a good feeling.”