Bimota WorldSBK rider Alex Lowes has opened up on the early stages of development of the Italian brand’🎃s KB998 t🎃hat it is racing season.

The Italian brand announced its re-entry to the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:World Superbike Championship last year, with Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani both retained as rider as part of the 🍬Provec racing-run Kawasaki Racing Team – renamed this year to Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team (BBKRT).

For Lowes, the cha🧸nge♛ of brand from Kawasaki to Bimota was something of a shock in the middle of the 2024 season.

“I rꦕemember when the bosses – Guim [Roda, BBKRT Team Manager] and the guys – came to me to explain to me [about the switch to Bimota], I thought they were telling me that they were going to fire me and kic𒐪k me out,” Lowes explained, speaking to WorldSBK.com.

“It♒ was a strange fe🔥eling, I was like ‘I don’t know what’s going on here,’ everything was really secret, but a secret inside the family of the team.

“They explained to me about the future, everybody was excited, and when I tried th🌱e bike for the first time I was anxious, honestly, because [2024] was the best feeling I had for many years in World Superbike – I was riding really well, fighting for some podiums every weekend.

“I was really confident [on the Kawasaki in 2024], so I was thinking ‘How’s it ಌgoing to feel, I’m 🍷feeling really good with the bike I’ve got,’ but it was interesting.”

Lowes add🌳ed that he was able to try the bike for the first time in Barcelona last year, where he was surprised at the difference in feeling between the Bimota and the Kawasaki he was used to.

“The first time ꧅I tried the bike, I did 16 laps in Bar🧔celona,” he said.

“There was nobody there; Florian [Mar⛄ino], thꦏe test rider, had been riding the bike a couple of times.

“I’d been waiting all day, a little bit nervous. I rode the bike just to get an initial feeling of the chassis and I coul🍰dn’t believe how different it felt [compared to the Kawasaki], to be honest, because the enginไe was the same [but] the way the bike was going into the corner and turning was a lot different.

“Obvio⭕usly, in these laps, I didn’t get time to explore the bike, but just to give my initia꧑l input; and my initial feeling on the bike was nice.

“It really m❀eans a lot to me to be involved from the start of the project and hopefully arrive fighting at the front of World Superbike with this bike.”