The Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team revealed its new colors for the 2025 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship, marking the brand’s return to WorldSBK for the first time since 2014.
In this comeback year, Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani will be the sole riders representing the Italian manufacturer. The KB998 Rimini machines, now working under the Kawasaki Heavy Industries umbrella, feature a Bimota-built chassis powered by a Kawasaki engine.
Bimota’s Chief Operating Officer Pierluigi Marconi spoke at their Team Launch event: “I’m really happy today because finally we have the chance to return to World Superbike. Racing is in the DNA of Bimota, so for us it was really important to be able to return to WorldSBK. In 2019, when Kawasaki was thinking about buying Bimota, all of us were thinking that we must return to racing. We are really happy and we think it is crucial for us to be back in the race.”
Bimota’s Background in World Superbike | Winners of the First Race
Back at Donington Park in 1988, WorldSBK got underway. The first winner always goes down in history and Davide Tardozzi took those honors on Bimota machinery, fending off Marco Lucchinelli’s Ducati bike by just over a second. Tardozzi would go on to win five races in 1988, all for Bimota, who took seven in the first season in total. Three more wins followed in 1989 but, despite racing in 1990, 1991 and 1995, they wouldn’t taste victory again until 2000. At the turn of the millennium, the late Anthony Gobert claimed Bimota’s last victory to date at his home round in Australia. They then withdrew from the Championship until 2014 but their return only lasted a year. Now, as part of the Kawasaki Heavy Industries umbrella, they’re back in WorldSBK with a Bimota-built chassis powered by a Kawasaki engine, aiming to rekindle some of their past glories.
The KB998 Rimini | Tech Specs
The new Bimota machine for WorldSBK features a 998cc inline-four engine that is claimed to produce over 220 hp and reach top speeds of nearly 200 mph. The bike’s design features a split chassis made of a steel front trellis and aluminum alloy plates, with Showa providing the suspension and Brembo supplying the brakes.
History of Bimota | Founded in 1966, First Model Released in 1973
The company was founded in Rimini, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy in 1966, and named after the three people who helped found it: Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri and Massimo Tamburini, taking the first two letters of their surnames to form the Bimota moniker. Initially not a company related to bikes, Bimota soon released their first model in 1973 with the HB1, before the YB1 was introduced for racing. Success came rapidly on track while also working on commercial machines, including world title wins in the 1980s and race wins up until 2000. Now, combining Bimota and Kawasaki’s expertise, they’ll be aiming to taste more glory in 2025. CN
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