After a strong first season in WorldSBK with KB998, Bimota tried some “radical” changes for the first test of 2026, said Alex Laws.
Lowes was the only Bimota rider to finish on the podium in the 2025 World Superbike season, finishing second in the Super Pole race at Misano and third three times at Magny-Cours.
The British rider has clearly adapted well to the new bike, but Kawasaki’s rebranding project in the production derivative series was never intended to peak at sixth in the world rankings, so development continues.
The week after the final race of 2025, Bimota returned to the track for a post-race test at Jerez, with Lowe’s attempting a more “extreme chassis direction”.
“Honestly, I’m positive,” Alex Laws told WorldSBK.com at the post-race Jerez test on Wednesday (October 22).
“Basically, from everything we learned in year one, there were some things to try in terms of more extreme chassis directions, different swingarms, Showa elements, etc.
“It’s difficult to make changes throughout the year. Especially when you go to the track on the bike for the first time, you need to be close to the basic settings.
“So we took some ideas from that and tried it out in quick succession this morning (Wednesday, October 22nd) and felt we had some good steps.
“We were hoping that the temperatures would be a little warmer (…) because we have to try the bike and new settings in hot conditions. But everything we tried was very positive.
“The development of the bike over the past year has helped us to find a good direction. I think we have a clear direction again heading into the winter. So it was a positive morning and I enjoyed riding the bike.”
“It’s always difficult to say at Jerez, because the track felt really fast this morning. So was it a good setting or just a fast track? It’s hard to say. But overall it was fun. It was pretty positive.”
Lowes was able to talk specifically about where he saw positive aspects of the new changes to Jerez’s layout.
“It’s a little easier to ride,” he said. “Obviously, this bike is just fun to ride, but I really felt some nice benefits in some parts of the track, especially sector one.
“Once I stopped the bike and changed direction from two to three to four, I felt much more comfortable handling the bike. I hope I can maintain this next year and of course on the other circuits.”
Arguably the key issue for Bimota in 2025 is straight-line speed, with the same engine that powers the Kawasaki ZX-10RR mounted behind a fairing that has a higher drag coefficient than the Kawasaki thanks to its front wing.
There doesn’t seem to be a new engine coming next year, but Lowe’s suggested there may be things you can do yourself to improve corner exit performance.
“We still need to focus on this area over the winter,” Laws acknowledged.
“There are some things we can do. Obviously the rules are quite restrictive in World Superbike, but we will focus on that area to improve our acceleration and try to get better myself as well.”
“Maximizing our potential on the straights is what we have to strive for next year.”