Both Alex Lowes Axel Bassani will remain with the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team for a third season after renewing their contracts with the squad until the end of 2027. The #22 has been a mainstay in the Provec Racing squad, which runs Bimota’s factory effort, since he joined for the 2020 campaign under the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK banner, while Bassani joined the team for 2024 with Kawasaki, before the project switched to a Bimota entry.
SUCCESS WITH PROVEC RACING
The British rider first joined Provec Racing in 2020, alongside Jonathan Rea, winning at Phillip Island in Race 2 during his first weekend in green. He ended that season with four rostrums and one win. 10 podiums followed over the next three seasons representing Kawasaki, but he had a breakout campaign in 2024. He took two wins – both at Phillip Island – and 12 podiums as he finished fourth in the Championship. For 2025, the Lincoln-born star remained with Provec Racing but under a new moniker as Bimota returned to the Championship. He took four podiums in the Italian brand’s first campaign since 2014 and led at Donington Park as he went in search of a dream victory. The first podium of the year came at Bimota’s home round at Misano, while he took three more at Magny-Cours. So far in 2026, Lowes has taken one podium at Phillip Island but sits fourth in the Championship standings.
“I PASSIONATELY BELIEVE IN THIS PROJECT, IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME”
Discussing his new contract, the 35-year-old said: “Continuing with the team for the next two years feels really special to me. There’s a real family feeling within the team and crew, and that makes this project even more motivating to be part of. I’m fully dedicated to helping develop the bike on track and supporting the growth of the bimota brand in racing and also for the road bike range. The encouragement of the fans is something that motivates me to try harder at every race, plus the positive input from the bimota factory and Kawasaki in Japan. It really is an impressive, global enterprise. I passionately believe in this project, it means so much to me and I’m excited to keep pushing together for success in the WorldSBK championship.”
FOURTH YEAR WITH PROVEC RACING FOR BASSANI
For Bassani, he made his name with the Motocorsa Racing squad when he made his WorldSBK debut in 2021. He claimed his first podium in his rookie season and added five more across the 2022 and 2023 seasons – including rostrums on home soil at Misano and Imola. For 2024, he secured a move to be a factory rider for Kawasaki but struggled with his adaptation to the ZX-10RR machine. However, he made a big step when he jumped on the KB998 Rimini machine in 2025, although he wasn’t able to claim podiums – unlike his teammate. However, this season, ‘El Bocia’ claimed two podiums at the season-opening Australian Round and has made another step for 2026.
“I THINK IT WAS THE BEST DECISION TO CONTINUE FOR ONE MORE YEAR IN OUR WORK”
Giving his thoughts on his renewal, Bassani said: “I am really happy to continue this project. Especially in the last year we have started to grow up a lot. Also, the changes we made inside the team helped a lot to continue our project in a good way and I think we are working well. I think it was the best decision to continue for one more year in our work. I think we have a lot of margin to grow up once again and we shall see this year and next year. Thank you to the team, bimota and Kawasaki for this opportunity.”
“WITH ALEX AND AXEL AS PART OF THE PROJECT FOR 2027, WE BELIEVE WE HAVE OUR ‘DREAM TEAM’”
Guim Roda, bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team Manager, stated: “It is a source of great pride for us to renew with both Alex and Axel at the same time. This allows us to reinforce our image as a true team, which is essential for continuing to move forward and further develop the KB998 Rimini in the future. The performance and commitment that both riders bring to the project are key factors in enabling us to progress with solid and consistent steps. They have both understood the complexity of a Championship that starts from a production-based motorcycle, as well as the challenges manufacturers face in adapting different road-bike philosophies to perform at the highest level in competition. We are all working together to extract the maximum potential from the production motorcycle while simultaneously contributing new solutions that can be transferred back to the road bike. Continuing with Alex and Axel allows us to eliminate variables and focus on the areas where we can make meaningful improvements, knowing that we have two of the finest riders on the grid. Our task now is to refine our package for 2026 and prepare for a highly competitive 2027 season, where the performance level across the field will be closer than ever. This will enable us to deliver great racing and an outstanding show for all the fans.”
Pierluigi Marconi, Chief Operating Officer of bimota, added: “bimota is a racing brand. To achieve your ambitions on track, you need a winning combination of machine, rider, and team, which we believe we have. Our goal is to continue our growth curve in terms of releasing yet more potential from the KB998 Rimini. With Alex and Axel as part of the project for 2027, we believe we have our "dream team" and can look forward with optimism and be even more competitive on the racetrack and in the showroom.”
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