New Season Build-Up Begins At ...

Just two days after the dramatic conclusion of the 2025 WorldSBK season at the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto, the BbKRT squad was back on the same track for a two-day test of the bimota KB998 Rimini.

With both bimota KB998 riders, Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani, finishing inside the overall top ten in the first season of the entire project (with Alex finally sixth and Axel tenth), the work to find even greater performance for the 2026 season began on Tuesday, 21 October.

Official BbKRT team test rider, Xavi Fores, was the sole BbKRT rider on track on Tuesday, performing shakedown and comparison tests, and also evaluating some new parts before the regular riders tried them out one day later.

Alex and Axel took to the circuit on Wednesday, 22nd October, for a planned one day of testing in the case of Alex, and half a day with respect to Axel.

The total amount of test days per rider, before and during any season, remains at ten for 2026. In the final analysis, each BbKRT rider rode for half a day - four hours in all - for each to be able to keep half a day on their test allocation.

Each rider got through their allocated workloads, with the new parts and set-up initiatives providing improvements in some areas, and a clear direction for further development at the next tests in November.

Several other 2026 teams and riders were present at the tests, most on day one only, but there were still enough fast riders on track for the BbKRT team to make some comparisons with.

Alex’s best lap time of the test was a 1’38.756. Axel’s best single lap pace was 1’39.050.

There will be a series of winter tests for BbKRT to take part in before the start of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship, which takes place at Phillip Island in Australia, between 20-22 February. The first of those tests will be at Jerez once again, between 26-27 November.

Alex Lowes, stated: “The first day of testing for 2026 has honestly been a positive day. The guys have been working so hard. It has been a long, long year for them with the new project, different stuff coming all the time, learning how to work on the bike, finishing the season with back-to-back races, then coming here for a test. They have been working late at night, changing engines, working with Xavi yesterday. They have done a really great job so thank you to them after a long season. The bike felt really good today, and with two or three areas of the bike I really felt better. It’s a bit cooler today, which is a shame, because we wanted to try the bike in even hotter conditions. But, if I can keep this feeling that I had from today, I would say it is really, really positive. I enjoyed it and I am happy to be having an eye on next year already.”

Axel Bassani, stated: “It has been a really good day and we tried some new items. We tried to understand which way is the best one to take for the next test in November. I think in half a day we did a lot of work and I am happy to finish the end of the 2025 season, and the beginning of the 2026 season, in a good way. Now we need to focus on the next step.”

Pere Riba, Crew Chief for Alex Lowes, stated: “As usual, after the last race of a season, we have prepared some upgrades, thinking towards the next season. We are happy because we have just finished the first year of the bimota project, and I think everyone is proud of the job we have done. Sixth in the championship is not so bad in the first year. Throughout the year, we have been developing quite a lot, especially in the chassis point of view and with bike balance. We understood quite a lot, so we prepared several things to try. There were some bigger steps to understand, and today we worked with balance. It has been really positive.”

Marcel Duinker, Crew Chief for Axel Bassani, stated: “It is always good to test after a race and especially after a season where we gathered a lot of information. We understood the bike better and better during the season, and in the end, we finished Jerez with some good results. Knowing the information from the year and the information from the Jerez race weekend means it is always good to make a test almost straight away. The riders have a good reference, and the bike set-up is on a good level. All the material you introduce in this kind of test means that the riders will always be very clear on the performance and on the results. We did only half a day and focused on our main priorities. We had a very clear opinion from Axel on every single item. Now, we have a couple of weeks to prepare ourselves for November, where hopefully we will have good weather and continue our winter test plans.”