Bassani: "I finished the test without a good feeling… I don’t feel fast, I hope to feel better during the race weekend"
The Italian star secured more top ten finishes during two days of testing at Portimao but left the rollercoaster without a good feeling on his Bimota machine
Some of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship paddock ventured to the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve for two days of testing at the iconic rollercoaster venue, although found – just like in January – the weather scuppering their plans. Despite poor weather at times throughout the two days, riders including Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) were able to put in plenty of laps to acquire as much data as possible ahead of the Pirelli Portuguese Round, which takes place at the end of March.
On Day 1, ‘El Bocia’ claimed eighth place on his KB998 Rimini machine with a 1’41.672s, while also completing 44 laps on a day where overnight rain had left the track wet. It dried up throughout the morning before riders headed out on track. Bassani’s best time put him just over a second down on pacesetter Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), while he was just a few tenths behind teammate Alex Lowes who finished in seventh.
Day 2 started off dry, but rain fell which, again, disrupted test plans up and down the paddock. Bassani was able to go around six tenths quicker on the second day as he set a 1’41.049s, finishing in 10th place. The Italian completed fewer laps, with just 38, and he finished seven tenths down on Lowes who secured third place on a disrupted day. The fastest time of the day belonged to Razgatlioglu with a 1’39.592s, the only rider in the 1’39s, as he finished half-a-second clear of Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati).
Reflecting on the two days of testing, the #47 said: “It’s been two strange days of testing due to the weather, like always. We had to do a lot of work in not many hours, but we tried to check all the items we wanted to try. It’s been quite intense. Honestly, I finished the test without a really good feeling so I don’t know how the Portimao round will go. We have to work a lot. At the moment, I don’t feel really fast, and I hope to feel better during the race weekend.”
Bimota returned to the Championship in 2024 and scored consistent results throughout the season-opener in Australia, taking six top-ten finishes between their riders. Like everyone in WorldSBK, they have endured a difficult testing programme due to rain affecting tests in January at Jerez and Portimao, and now again in March at the same venue. Despite hopes of good weather in Portugal in March, it didn’t come to fruition and Bimota – and every other team – will be hoping enough data was collected to refine their packages ahead of the Pirelli Portuguese Round across the 28th-30th March.
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