The ten-lap ‘sprint’ race provided both joy for the team and proof that real progress is being made with the WorldSBK spec KB998 Rimini machine.

It was a race of contrasting fortunes for the BbKRT riders in the Superpole ‘sprint’ however. Axel Bassani looked ready to take a strong result after staring from the front row, but he fell as he entered T1 on lap one and collided with Nicolo Bulega. He also fell and neither rider was able to continue.

After the first turn incident Lowes was soon in second position. He stuck with eventual race winner Toprak Razgatlioglu for as long as possible and would take a famous first podium on the KB998 Rimini racing just a few kilometres down the A14 Autostrada from bimota’s HQ.

The second race at the 4.226km long circuit on Sunday, the 21-lap Race Two, was held in even more punishingly hot and humid ambient conditions than before, with ambient temperatures of 32°C.

Lowes got away with the leading bunch from his second place starting position, which in Race Two is based on the Superpole Race results for the top few riders.

Alex was running in fourth position, then occupied fifth and sixth place. On lap 13 he fell at T8, but got back on to restart and finish in 14th place - scoring two more championship points.

Bassani’s Superpole Race crash saw him given a double ‘Long Lap’ penalty for Race Two. This double detour from the normal track layout dropped him to 20th place at one stage. Axel worked his way back to 12th place in the final race results.

In the championship standings, after 18 individual races across six rounds, Lowes sits seventh, with 85 points. Bassani is 11th overall, with 67 points.

After a home round for bimota and Bassani, the next race weekend will be a home event for Lowes - at Donington Park in the UK between 11 - 13 July. This event will mark the start of the second half of the 12-round WorldSBK season.

Alex Lowes stated: “I was really happy about the first race today. Track position is so important. I got in a good position behind Toprak Razgatlioglu and I had two or three really strong early laps. The last three laps were a long three laps! I am really happy for the team to get a podium. Everyone is working hard at the track, away from the track, so to take a podium finish is a good indication of our progress. Obviously, having the test here before the race weekend really helped with the bike set-up. I don’t feel as negative about the final race as the result was. I felt quite good in the final part of the race so I thought I could pass Danilo. The crash was a case of trying to go faster when I was already fast. The bike was damaged but I jumped back on and I was still able to do 1’34 laps at the end. The positive thing is that we were, even in these more extreme temperatures, still fast on the bike. This is the first proper hot race we have had. Overall, I am happy with the weekend. I think we did a good job and we can take a lot of information and positives into the next round.”


Axel Bassani stated: “I felt like I braked hard, but at the normal point, into the first corner of the Superpole Race. I tried to find my position on the inside but I was not able to slow down the same way that Bulega did. I tried everything to stop and to not go into him but I lost the front and we crashed. Nothing more to say only sorry. I served my penalty in Race Two. I think even without the crash, it was quite difficult for me to think about a podium today, and Bautista was also quite fast. I could maybe have stayed inside the top five. Until the first race on Sunday, this weekend has been quite good and we were fast.”