It's a shock announcement! Italian brand Bimota, specialists in high-end sports bikes, is to return to Superbike racing for the 2025 season. Even more surprisingly, it's taking Kawasaki's place! In fact, it's the Kawa structure in WSBK that's changing identity, with a new bike featuring a Bimota chassis and ZX-10RR core. The new team will operate under the name Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team (BbKRT).
Winner of the 350cc World Championship in 1980 with Jon Ekerold on a two-stroke Bimota YB3, Bimota also enjoyed success in TT F1 with the legendary Virginio Ferrari on a YB4R, which took championship honors in 1987. No stranger to four-stroke machines, Bimota won no less than seven races in the very first year of the World Superbike Championship, in 1988, thanks to Davide Tardozzi (5) and Stephane Mertens (2). Even in 2000, Bimota managed to win a WorldSBK race thanks to the late Anthony Gobert, who stood on the top step of the podium aboard an SB8R during a rainy race weekend at Phillip Island.
For the 2025 season, Bimota is teaming up with Kawasaki in a collaboration that will see a Bimota chassis equipped with a Kawasaki engine (and associated technologies) to compete in WorldSBK. Not only will the Ninja ZX-10RR engine be familiar, but so will many of the team members. In effect, Kawasaki is transferring its efforts into the Bimota racing program, marking a decisive moment in the Kawasaki Racing Team's journey after nearly four decades in the WSBK premier class.
This means that a new hypersport bike is about to hit the market. Since Superbike bikes are derived from the series, a new bike will be launched in a few months' time. It will almost certainly be called KB5, powered by a 4-cylinder engine with over 200 hp, and will it have a frame as original as the Bimota tradition? We can't wait to find out.
Speaking about Kawasaki's new direction in WorldSBK, President and CEO of Kawasaki Motors, Ltd. Hiroshi Ito, said:
Bimota enjoys an enviable reputation for excellence in motorcycle design and manufacturing. As part of our vision for the evolution of this world-renowned brand, we see racing as a logical next step in terms of product development and brand exposure on the world stage. Our commitment to WorldSBK is stronger than ever, and we hope that this new racing project will stimulate both Bimota and Kawasaki fans. The passion for racing success remains and we look forward to the presence of the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team on the WorldSBK grid in 2025.
Pierluigi Marconi, Bimota's COO, commented:
The engineering, technology and day-to-day sales support already offered by Kawasaki have firmly put Bimota back on the map. Now it's time to take the next step in our evolution. Racing has been part of Bimota's DNA since day one, and taking part in WorldSBK while developing our new product range and expanding our dealer network in Europe and around the world makes undeniable sense.
The unrivalled experience of the experts on the Kawasaki Racing Team, and the support and cooperation of Kawasaki Motors, Ltd. in Japan, fill us with pride and optimism. The Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team will certainly lay the foundations for the next chapter in Bimota's history.
KRT team manager Guim Roda concluded:
Over the past thirteen years, myself and everyone at the Granollers KRT workshop have dedicated ourselves wholeheartedly to the Kawasaki Superbike project, winning seven WorldSBK rider titles in the process, as well as numerous team and manufacturer awards. Now, after nearly four decades of Kawasaki involvement in the Superbike championship, we're proud to be part of a new era, forming the infrastructure of the new Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team.
We'll certainly take time to reflect and celebrate Kawasaki's heritage in Superbike racing, but we're also very excited to be a central part of this new collaboration between Bimota and Kawasaki. It's an evolution of Kawasaki's approach to the highest level of production racing, and we're honoured to play our part in this new project. I am convinced that we have the technology and human resources to succeed, and it will be a new and energizing experience to field an impressive two-rider team in the Motul FIM WorldSBK 2025 Championship.
Crédits infos et images : Kawasaki / D.R.
