Stunning First Double Podium F...

In only the second race of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship season bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team (BbKRT) riders Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes secured a second and third place respectively in the ten-lap Superpole Race at Phillip Island in Australia. Bassani would go on to secure another podium finish in Race Two.

Axel Bassani left the opening round of the new season in second place in the championship standings, after securing two podium finishes on his bimota KB998 Rimini on the final day.

In the usual intense ten-lap Superpole Race, the leading places were swapped between several riders. As the race progressed, eventual race winner Nicolo Bulega set the leading pace, with Bassani and Lowes following in that order across the finish line.

This was the first double podium result for BbKRT since they joined the series in 2025, and the first BbKRT podium for Bassani. The last time two bimota riders got on the same podium was in the first year of the championship’s existence, 1988, at the Estoril circuit in Portugal.

After the dry first race of the final day, rain began to fall all around the circuit. The 22-lap Race Two was to be held in fully wet conditions, but some riders, like Alex, opted for a wet tyre choice on a ‘dry’ bike set-up, hoping for the track conditions to improve and lap times get faster. It rained even more in the race, however, meaning Alex had to ride at peak performance to remain in fifth position. When he realised he an opportunity to go for fourth position with four laps to go, he tied to catch the rider in front, but fell in the fast T1 corner.

Axel set off into second place at the end of lap one of the weekend’s WorldSBK finale, then went to fourth place, third, and finally second, where he remained in the final seven laps.

Alex started the wet race strongly but could not push forward, eventually falling in the fast Turn One right-hander, without injury, while riding in fifth place. He leaves the first round eighth in the championship, but only three points behind a top five position.

After a weekend that delivered strong qualifying performances and three podiums in all, bimota is second in the Manufacturers’ Championship and the BbKRT team is second in the Teams’ Championship.

The next round will be held between 27-29 March, at Portimao in Portugal.

Alex Lowes stated: “The Superpole Race was good. Our base setting we had in Europe, that we found from the second half of last winter, I had been really happy with. But it has not been working here. Between Saturday and Sunday we made probably the biggest change on the bike inside a race weekend. I was quite happy with the Superpole Race because I was on a bike setting that I had more or less never ridden before warm-up, for ten minutes. I think I can be quite positive going back to Europe. We started with a dry bike setting but wet tyres in Race Two, and I didn’t have any grip. I was up for it off the start, again I had a good start, and nearly led it on the first lap. Then I realised that I could not lean the bike like the other guys, so I started going backwards.”

Axel Bassani stated: “This is my most successful weekend in WorldSBK, 100%. I enjoyed Race One a lot yesterday as I was able to do a lot of overtakes, but today we were able to do what we wanted to do. We are second in the championship, but for me the most important thing is to have a good feeling with the bike and especially inside the team. At this moment, it is working, so we can continue like this. Today, before Race Two, I was not expecting a race like this in the wet conditions. In winter testing, I did a few laps in the wet, but my feeling was not really good. I could not make more days due to the test limitations, so in Portimao Xavi Fores made a very good job, and with the team they found a nice base for wet conditions. That was so useful today. So at the start of Race Two, I tried to be clean, consistent, and make no mistakes. In the end, this paid off. We finished with a double P2 today, so we are happy!”