Alex Lowes explains early Bimota WorldSBK talks: “I thought they were going to fire me”

Bimota WorldSBK rider Alex Lowes has opened up on the early stages of development of the Italian brand’s KB998 that it is racing season.

The Italian brand announced its re-entry to the 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 change of brand from Kawasaki to Bimota was something of a shock in the middle of the 2024 season.

“I remember 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 kick me out,” Lowes explained, speaking to WorldSBK.com.

“It was a strange feeling, 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 the 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 going to feel, I’m feeling really good with the bike I’ve got,’ but it was interesting.”

Lowes added 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 Barcelona,” he said.

“There was nobody there; Florian [Marino], the 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 couldn’t believe how different it felt [compared to the Kawasaki], to be honest, because the engine was the same [but] the way the bike was going into the corner and turning was a lot different.

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

“It really means 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.”