Race Two Top Five For Bassani ...

The penultimate round of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship concluded on Sunday, 11 October, with the best single result for the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team squad being fifth in Race Two for Axel Bassani.

With two WorldSBK races on the Sunday schedule, Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani lined up third and eighth on the grid for the Superpole Race, the results of which would then determine their starting positions for the final 21-lap Race Two.

In the ten-lap Superpole Race, Alex found immediate misfortune when he was squeezed between Miguel Oliveira and Yari Montella into T1 on lap one. A contact by Montella broke the bimota KB998 Rimini’s winglet off and sent Alex way off track. He recovered from this unwelcome experience to get back into racing action, but was suddenly at the back of the field. He then put in a remarkable ride to get up to 11th position at the flag.

Axel’s Superpole race was slightly less dramatic but also very determined, and he ended up in a final sixth place, taking championship points and earning a second row starting position for Race Two. Lowes had to start Race Two from the fourth row, in tenth place, as the top nine grid positions are given to the riders who finish in the top nine positions in the Superpole Race.

In Race Two, Alex again launched off the startline in strong form, but in yet another contact with a rival, he was again dropped back, although not as dramatically as during the Superpole Race. He recomposed himself and got back down to work, setting a strong pace to go from 11th place to seventh by lap nine. On lap 16, Alex would fall while trying to move further up the order, and he was unable to get back into action.

Race Two proved to be a weekend-best showing for Axel as he went from sixth on the grid to fifth at the flag, fighting all the way from lap one to lap 21. His race results at Estoril improved from race-to-race: from seventh to sixth to fifth.

In the points table after the 11th of 12 rounds, Alex is fourth in the championship, with 237 points, while Axel is seventh, with 208.

The final round of the 2026 WorldSBK championship will shortly take place at Jerez in Spain, between 16-18 October.

Alex Lowes, stated: “Not the best Sunday for us, but I have felt good on the bike all weekend. We made some small changes for today, and I felt good in the warm-up. This morning, I got hit on the first lap of the Superpole Race, so I was right at the back of the grid. But I came from last position to 11th in ten laps. I didn’t enjoy the result of the race because you have to be inside the top nine to get a good grid position for Race Two. But if you take that out of it, the race itself was good fun because I made some good passes, and my pace was quite strong right to the end. In the final race, I made a good start, and I had a quick reaction to the lights. The bike was working well off the start. In T2, I got hit again and just managed to stay on track, so I lost maybe seven places. I found my rhythm again, and the bike was a little bit different. In some parts, like sector two and three, I felt quite good. I finally got a bit of clear track and was setting quite a good pace. I had Baldassarri behind, pushing me, and I was trying too hard. I was trying to get as high up as I could. I think it was a case of trying to go faster when I was already fast into T4. There are fine margins now in WorldSBK. I have to take the positive points from today. Sorry to the guys in the team, and well done to Axel as that was a good Sunday for him. We will try to get back on it next week in Jerez.”

Axel Bassani, stated: “The Superpole Race was really good because we recovered two positions, so we took a P6 finish. This is never easy in the Superpole Race because everyone wants to make up some positions, but we did a really good race with a fast pace. In Race Two, we started really well and I did some laps at the front, fighting for P4, but from half race distance, I started to struggle a lot with the rear, and I started to slide. I lost some metres from the rider in front of me. But I think we did an incredible job this weekend, with P7, P6, and P5 race results, always improving. We worked hard with all the team because we are struggling, especially on the straight, so we have to recover everything during braking and turning. We have to maximise everything, and so I want to thank the team for continuing to push. We are using everything we have, and we will continue like this until the end.”