Alex Lowes reveals initial Bimota WorldSBK apprehension: “Of course you’re nervous”

The switch from Kawasaki to Bimota was not one that Alex Lowes was entirely sure about initially, he says.

Kawasaki decided to reintroduce Bimota to WorldSBK in 2025 after it lost Jonathan Rea to Yamaha at the end of 2023, deciding its ZX-10RR was no longer the tool to compete at the front in the production derivative series, but also that a multi-purpose Kawasaki sports bike was not the philosophy to follow.

The more track-focused Bimota KB998 was developed as a result, with a new aerodynamics package and a chassis designed by the Italian marque. It was ready to replace the ZX10-RR in 2025.

But 2024 had been one of Lowes’ best seasons in World Superbike, finishing on the podium seven times, winning two races, and finishing fourth in the riders’ standings.

It meant that, for Lowes, it was difficult to avoid apprehension about the Bimota, about starting from scratch on an unproven motorcycle after proving that he could be a regular podium contender on the Kawasaki he’d ridden for five seasons.

“Yes, that’s basically what happened, really,” Alex Lowes told Crash.net in an interview at Motorcycle Live.

“I think it was one of my best years, 2024. It was fourth in the championship, but I had 12 or 13 podiums, I was fast everywhere, more or less. 

“The bike didn’t change much, but I managed to get some more performance out of the bike. So, I was enjoying it a lot, so to change from that – of course, you’re nervous. 

“We don’t like change too much as riders because you’re panicking about not being competitive. 

“But, on the other side, to be part of the project from the start, and to start to do well, that was quite rewarding as well. 

“I think it took a bit of time to adjust.

“I liked the green, I really liked the colours last year, which doesn’t mean anything but I did enjoy 2024!”

Lowes was pleased with his 2025 in general, but was frustrated with one race in particular: the Portuguese Round.

“I think it was a really good year apart from two races,” Lowes said.

“Donington I’m not as annoyed with because I felt really good that weekend, I was pushing too hard but I was quite confident, home race, made a mistake and then couldn’t ride the Sunday because I was injured. 

“But Portimao was a shame because I had the yellow flag in qualifying, so I went from fourth to last on the grid, and I didn’t handle that well.”

He explained: “Phillip Island was a bit of a disappointment after last year, so then second round at Portimao I felt quite good on the bike and I was trying to, let’s say, prove the project, almost, looking back then. 

“So, rather, than just accept that the weekend was going to be tough after qualifying, I’ve thought about having a good weekend from the back of the grid. So, the first race I got up to eighth, crashed; then the Superpole Race, hard to come through in 10 laps; and then the last race, crashing again. 

“So, those two rounds, if I take those out, it was a good year. But Portimao was not good.

“From Hungary, the whole second part of the year was good, especially long races: top-six every race. I think for the first year on the bike it was a solid effort.”

If Donington had been without the crash in Race 1, it might’ve been the highlight of Lowes’ season. In reality, his triple podium at Magny-Cours takes that title, those results coming as Lowes became more comfortable on the KB998 after having one of the best seasons of his career aboard the Kawasaki ZX-10RR in 2024.

“I’d say I was riding well in the second half of [2025],” he said.

“You just have to ride the bike a little bit– not smoother, that’s not the right word, but softer in certain ways you force the bike. I understand it a lot more now. 

“Four or five years on the Kawasaki, you get into habits of the Kawasaki without even realising, sort of subconscious. 

“So, that took some time to change, but now I’m really enjoying the bike, it’s a pleasure to ride, we just need to keep working for some more performance.”

If there’s an area the Bimota clearly needs work in terms of performance it’s in a straight line. The Kawasaki engine combined with the comparatively radical aerodynamics of the KB998 versus those of the ZX10-RR (which, it should be noted, has a new fairing for 2026), resulted in WorldSBK’s newest bike being one of the slowest in the speed traps in 2025.

But without a dramatic change in the production engine, there’s little the race team can do to address the bike’s horsepower deficit compared to bikes like the Honda, BMW, and Ducati. 

Lowes, though, says the team has not been without ideas for how to improve the performance of the bike in the second season.

“Like always, we can improve in many areas,” he said. “Me riding the bike, for one – but electronics, a little bit with the chassis on the bike. 

“You can’t make too many changes during the year [....] – in the rules, you’re allowed one or two upgrades. 

“So, already after the last race, we had some ideas of where we were struggling, and trying to make some steps from that side. 

“From the engine side, work in progress. Obviously, it’s a production-based championship so you’re limited in what you can do, but we’ll try and make some small steps everywhere, we’re not miles away. 

“Of course, going back to the same tracks, we should be in a stronger position. 

“Other people are obviously improving as well, so it never gets easier, but hopefully we can make some steps forward.”

BSB “advice”

When the FS-3 BSB team announced towards the end of the 2025 season that it was trading its ZX-10RRs for two KB998s for the 2026 season, the announcement came along with the information that the team would be working collaboratively with the WorldSBK team next year to help develop the project, and that Lowes was one link in that chain, thanks in part also to his previous work with FS-3’s chief engineer, Ian Prestwood, when he won his BSB title in 2013.

Speaking at Motorcycle Live, Lowes said that his role in this aspect is “just giving some advice”, but he does think the Bimota will be a bike that suits the tracks in the British Championship.

“Not really helping too much, just giving some advice,” he said.

“I think it’ll be a good bike, good chassis for the BSB tracks. 

“A couple of young riders [Max Cook, Joe Talbot] on the bike that are hungry, I think that’s great for the team, and I think the more we – my job as a Bimota rider – can grow the brand, grow the project, let people see the bike, the better, because I think it’s a great bike and I hope they enjoy it as much as I do.”