SBK, Axel Bassani's mission with Bimota: "To be the best of the rest

Ducati’s quartet, then the Bimota of the Veneto rider: a positive Friday for him, even if he’d like to be further up and fighting with today’s Superbike front-runners.

Not only for Ducati—Misano Adriatico is very special for Bimota too. It’s a true home round, given the company was founded in Rimini. In 2025 the brand reappeared in the Superbike World Championship thanks to Kawasaki, which in 2019 had purchased 49.9% of the shares and committed to a new project by putting two KB998 Rimini bikes on track, entrusting them to Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes.

On this Friday of free practice both riders managed to finish in the top 10. The Veneto native, fifth at 768 thousandths from leader Nicolò Bulega, is the top non-Ducati in the timesheets. His teammate is seventh, a tenth behind him. With the top two steps of the podium seemingly earmarked for Bulega and Lecuona, we’ll have to see if Bimota has the potential to fight for the third.

Bassani gave a positive assessment of his SBK Friday in Emilia-Romagna: "Today was a positive first day. We picked up where we left off in Aragon; we’re back in our positions. That’s not a given with the level in the Superbike championship. In the morning I struggled a bit, because Misano is quite different from Aragon; the bike was very nervous. But in the afternoon, with a bit more heat and some changes to the bike, I found my feeling and the pace was pretty good."

The number 47 of the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team admitted that being the top non-Ducati is, by necessity, a realistic ambition at the moment: "I’ve always said the goal is to be the first of the regulars, to be right there in the middle, in Ducati’s big group. That’s the reality today."

Last year Lowes managed to bring the Bimota to fourth in Race 1 and second in the Superpole Race (Axel took out Bulega, both retired). In the 2026 edition of the Romagna round, it might be even tougher to see the KB998 Rimini in the top 5: "This year is a different story," explains the Feltre rider, "because in the top ten there are always seven or eight Ducatis, so in 99% of cases the top four or five positions are occupied by them. But never say never; we’re here to give our best and, just as we make mistakes, others can make them too. We have to be as ready as possible."

Bassani will give his all to achieve a good result, trying not to make mistakes and to capitalize on any made by others. Today, Bimota is the second-best manufacturer on the Superbike grid—something that wasn’t a given at the start of the season: "I was hoping for it," admits the Veneto rider, "that’s the goal and at the moment we’re hitting it. We’ll try to keep it up until the end of the season."

Finally, Bassani talked about measuring up against his teammate Lowes, a rider who has been racing in World Superbike since 2014 and is anything but easy to beat: "Alex had a lot of experience with Kawasaki; my first year I was coming from Ducati, a completely different bike. I really struggled with the change—I had to modify my riding style, my working method, my training. Last year I got a bit closer, but he was still able to make a bit more of a difference. This year we’re pretty much on the same level, and that’s positive for the team, which can therefore work more smoothly on the bike."

The Italian rider believes that having such an experienced colleague in the box can help him improve; it’s a resource he tries to leverage: "Alex is a great rider, very aggressive, he pushes 100% every day. It’s not easy—you can’t have dips, because he’s always there. He has a lot of experience; he’s crafty in duels too. I’m learning from him and I hope one day to beat him in hand-to-hand battles".