With the month-long summer break coming to a close, all eyes in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship paddock turn to the upcoming Acerbis French Round. The bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team pair of Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani, along with the team’s test rider Xavi Fores, kicked the dust off at a private test at Spain’s Circuito de Navarra to prepare for the action, which gets underway on Friday, September 4th, at the beloved Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. While rain limited dry running at the single-day test, both riders were pleased and saw progress ahead of Round 9.
“IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE AT NAVARRA COMPARED TO THE LAST TIME WE WERE HERE”
Currently fourth in the Riders’ Championship standings, Lowes is hoping to make a strong final push in the four remaining rounds to pry third place away from Independent Ducati rider Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team). In that vein, the #22 was pleased with the setup and feeling after the month-long break and will look to hit the ground running in France.
On the day at Navarra, Lowes said: “It was good to get a few laps on the bike before we get to Magny-Cours for the next round. We had some drops of rain at midday, so we missed two hours of track time. But it was good to be back out with the guys in the team. We had a positive day. Improvements have been made at Navarra compared to the last time we were here, which is really good. It was nice to get back to work, and I am excited for next week.”
“IT HAS BEEN GREAT TO BE BACK AFTER SIX WEEKS OF NOT TOUCHING OUR BIKE”
Bassani was pleased to be back with his crew after a rejuvenating summer break. Reflecting on the test, everything seemed to be to the Italian’s liking. Bassani will hope that these extra laps aboard his KB998 Rimini will help him climb up the order past Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), who sits 24 points ahead of him in fifth, while his countryman Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) is a mere eight points behind him in seventh.
On the test, Bassani said: “We had quite a good test and it has been great to jump onto the bike again after six weeks of not touching our WorldSBK bike. I was happy to get back to working with the team and everyone. The feeling with the bike was quite good, similar to the last time we used it. We did a lot of laps, not trying anything unusual, as this test was only to try and find the feeling we had the last time we were on track.”
“WE WILL GO TO MAGNY-COURS WITH A POSITIVE FEELING AND GOOD EXPECTATIONS.”
Both riders’ crew chiefs were similarly pleased with the data from the test, as, while rain fell around midday, costing around two hours of dry track time, their main focus was on getting their riders used to their bikes again. Pere Riba will hope that the #22 can replicate his 2025 pace, when he landed a podium hat-trick, while the #47’s crew chief, Uri Pallares, will hope that he and his rider can put a lukewarm 2025 French outing behind them, when Bassani’s best result was a P7.
On the test, the #22’s crew chief, Pere Riba, said: “The target of this test was to give some time to the riders after this long summer break, to let them get used to the bike again. It rained a little bit and we lost maybe an hour-and-a-half or two hours of track time. That was unlucky because this summer has been so hot, with no rain. Alex was happy to be on the bike and we made some laps. At the same time, I tried a couple of small things, and it was positive. We are ready to go to Magny-Cours next week.”
Looking back on the test, Bassani’s crew chief, Uri Pallares, said: “We had a very positive test after a very long summer break. Axel did almost 80 laps, and straight away he felt comfortable on the bike and had a good feeling, like he showed in the last rounds before the summer. This test was good not just for him, but for all the crew, including myself, to get the feeling of being at the racetrack again and remember the procedures that we will put into effect at Magny-Cours next week. We will go there with a positive feeling and good expectations.”
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