Axel Bassani has joined Alex Lowes in continuing with the Kawasaki Racing Team (KRT) squad as it transforms into a joint effort with Bimota for the 2025 WorldSBK campaign.
Bassani signed with the KRT team ahead of the 2024 campaign, becoming a factory rider after impressing with the Motocorsa Racing Ducati squad.
The Italian has endured a period of acclimatisation to the ZX-10RR so far this season with only a best result of ninth to show for his efforts thus far.
Still, the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team project – whereby a ZX-10RR engine will power a homologation special Bimota frame – has shown faith in Bassani and the Italian rider has reciprocated that, agreeing terms with the team on Saturday.
”What better venue than Misano to announce my continuation with the team and involvement with a project that combines skill and commitment from Japan and Italy,” said Bassani.
“As part of my personal racing journey this will help me learn more and develop as a rider. It for sure feels like a logical step by step process for my career path.
“I am super happy for this opportunity and in terms of confidence and focus for the remainder of 2024 it allows me to invest all my time and energy into the task of points and podiums on the KRT Ninja ZX-10RR.”
KRT Team Manager Guim Roda added: “We extended the long-term agreement with Axel as he has 100% covered the expectations we had of him.
“His potential is shown in details of quality during the first races of 2024 season.
“We are so committed to give him the necessary tools to consolidate his potential.
“At the same time he will polish himself to understand how to ride such different bike compared to the one he used in past.
“Everybody in team is very happy with this continuity and we expect amazing 2025 with him”.
The transition ongoing at KRT as it plans to welcome Bimota into the fold cannot be understated and Steve Guttridge, Race Planning Manager for Kawasaki Motors Europe acknowledged the importance of “continuity” within the team.
“To add Axel’s commitment to the realisation that Alex is investing his experience into the new project is a giant step forward,” he concluded.
Shigemi Tanaka, General Manager, Marketing & Sales Division, Kawasaki Motors, Ltd. spoke highly of Bassani’s signature.
“This weekend we witness the next step in the evolution of the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team project,” said Tanaka.
“By securing the talents of Axel and Alex both Kawasaki and Bimota have two fundamental parts of the jig-saw in place and we can move on with the complex development of the new machine.”
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