Bimota looks to return stronger than ever in their second year back in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship after more than a decade's hiatus. Now, as well as an ever-improving KB998 Rimini bike to propel them forward on track, Team Manager Guim Roda explained how new faces in the garage bring a treasure trove of WorldSBK experience to the team. Most prominently for Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team), he will now have Uri Pallares as his crew chief in 2026, replacing the experienced Marcel Duinker, who will move into a Track Engineer role with an emphasis on developing the bike.

FREE TO EXPERIMENT: “We’ll be testing a lot of items that we didn’t have a chance to experiment with on the bike’s setup”

All set to tinker with their KB998 Rimini in anticipation of the 2026 season, Roda explained how the second test at Jerez is anticipated to be more beneficial than the test at the same venue a month ago. A lack of rain and consistent temperatures will help their engineers pinpoint issues and opportunities for growth that they can address to build further on the high note the Bimota crew ended 2025 on.

On his team’s regimen for Day 2 of the second Jerez Test, Team Manager Guim Roda said: “We’ll be testing a lot of items that we didn’t have a chance to experiment with on the bike’s setup, all these kinds of things we want to try out to continue finding a direction. The cold conditions on track will help because track temperatures will be consistent. In the summer when the temperature rises, it’s hard to know what is affecting what.”

A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE: “Marcel has experience with the technical side, especially with suspension, as well as a crew chief with engineering skills; he’s a great asset to have”

Components aside, one of the biggest changes for the team is the arrival of the well-respected Uri Pallares to the garage, making the jump from Yamaha, where he was working with Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha). Pallares left Kawasaki with Rea when he made his headline move to Yamaha, and now, in light of his retirement, will move to Bimota to work as Bassani’s crew chief. Marcel Duinker, Bassani’s previous crew chief, will be staying with the team and transitioning to a track engineering role, as well as working concurrently with Kawasaki, where he won the 2013 World Championship with rider Tom Sykes.

 On the team’s personnel reshuffling, Roda said: “Uri Pallares will be Axel’s new crew chief, and Marcel Duinker will move to more of an engineering role to support development and work with Kawasaki. He’ll also be helping out teams riding on Bimota bikes in the national championships. Marcel has experience with the technical side, especially with suspension, as well as a crew chief with engineering skills; he’s a great asset to have. Uri, on his side, has been the chief mechanic for many years; he was working very closely with Pere Riba, and he has more experience than people think with organising a team for a race or a test at a high level, and we think he’s ready to work with Axel.”

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