After a optimistic first season for Bimota in WorldSBK with the KB998, it tried some “excessive” modifications throughout the first check of 2026, says Alex Lowes.
Lowes was the one Bimota rider on the rostrum in thr 2025 World Superbike season, ending third 3 times at Magny-Cours after ending second within the Superpole Race at Misano.
The British rider clearly tailored effectively to the brand new bike, however Kawasaki’s rebranding venture within the manufacturing by-product sequence was not meant to peak at sixth on the planet standings, and so improvement continues.
Within the week after the ultimate spherical of 2025, Bimota was again on-track within the post-race check at Jerez, with Lowes making an attempt a extra “excessive chassis course”.
“Constructive, truthfully,” Alex Lowes informed WorldSBK.com on Wednesday (22 October) on the post-race Jerez check.
“Mainly, from every thing we’ve learnt within the first 12 months, we had just a few issues to strive when it comes to extra excessive chassis course, a special swingarm, some stuff from Showa.
“It’s laborious to vary throughout the 12 months – particularly whenever you’re going to circuits for the primary time with the bike, you could maintain near the bottom setting.
“So, we had some concepts from that and we tried them this morning [Wednesday 22 October], back-to-back, and I felt some good steps.
“We had been hoping the temperature was going to be a bit hotter, […] as a result of we have to strive the bike and the brand new setting in scorching situations. However every thing we tried was fairly optimistic.
“A 12 months’s price of improvement on the bike helps, with good course, and I believe we’ve one other clear course for the winter. So, a optimistic morning, I loved using the bike.
“It’s at all times troublesome to say in Jerez as a result of the observe felt actually quick this morning. So, is the setting good or is the observe simply quick? It’s troublesome to say. However, generally, I loved it. It was fairly optimistic.”
Lowes was capable of be particular about the place on the Jerez structure he discovered some optimistic points with the brand new modifications.
“It was a bit simpler to trip,” he stated. “Clearly, the bike has been a pleasure to trip anyway, however just a few elements of the observe – particularly sector one – I actually felt some good advantages.
“Stopping the bike, altering course from [turn] two to a few to 4, the bike felt lots simpler to handle and I hope that is one thing we are able to maintain for subsequent 12 months, clearly on completely different circuits.”
Maybe the important thing difficulty for Bimota in 2025 has been straight line velocity, with the identical engine that powers the Kawasaki ZX-10RR behind a fairing that has a bigger drag coefficient than the Kawasaki’s because of the entrance wings.
Whereas there doesn’t appear to be a brand new engine coming for subsequent 12 months, Lowes instructed that there might be issues he might do himself to enhance nook exit efficiency.
“We nonetheless have to concentrate on this space throughout the winter,” Lowes admitted.
“There’s just a few issues we are able to do; clearly, the foundations are fairly restrictive in World Superbike, however we’ll be specializing in that space to attempt to speed up higher, me as effectively to attempt to be higher.
“Maximise our potential within the straights is what we’ve to attempt to do for subsequent 12 months.”
