Testing Begins Ahead of Round 2
Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team (BbKRT) will conduct its first in-season test of 2025 from March 14 to 15 at the popular Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in southern Portugal, commonly known as Portimão. The BbKRT project kicked off the season at Phillip Island in Australia, where both Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani secured top-10 finishes in all three races—a promising start.
However, the pre-season test at the same circuit in late January was hampered by bad weather, limiting valuable track time and making a thorough machine evaluation difficult. This upcoming test is crucial not only for refining the season-long package and base setup but also for preparing for Round 2 of the championship, scheduled from March 28 to 30 at Portimão.
Alex Lowes
“First of all, I’m really looking forward to getting back on the bimota KB998 Rimini. After the opening round, we’ve identified some areas for improvement. There’s still a lot to be done as this is a new project, but if the weather is on our side, I hope to get plenty of laps in dry conditions. Portimão presents a different challenge compared to Phillip Island. I particularly want to improve my front-end feeling and be more aggressive under braking. That will be key to battling more closely with other bikes. I’ll be focusing on this aspect and enjoying the ride with my Team 22 colleagues during this test.”
Axel Bassani
“We have a two-day test scheduled at Portimão, and with the race week approaching fast, it’s going to be an important session. Portimão is a tough circuit, but since we’ve already tested here once, we won’t be starting from zero, and that’s a big advantage. There aren’t many new parts to try, but I believe the rear needs improvement. At Phillip Island, our base setup wasn’t bad, and we were able to stay relatively close to the leading group. Speed on the straight is still a challenge, but I don’t want to focus solely on that. I’ll be working on other areas to bring us closer to the top riders.”
Guim Roda (BbKRT Team Manager)
“With the opening round in Australia behind us, the European rounds are about to begin. The races in Australia were the first real test for the bimota KB998 Rimini, and we identified many areas for improvement. That said, I believe we managed the entire weekend well. In this Portimão test, we aim to refine the specific areas we’ve identified as challenges. It will probably take at least three rounds to solidify the direction of machine development. We’ll focus on steady progress in both this test and the upcoming race. I’m confident the best is yet to come.”
(Photo courtesy of BbKRT)