The news is one that makes noise: this afternoon Bimota announced that it will return to racing in the Superbike World Championship starting from next season, i.e. from 2025.
The official Kawasaki website announced it, because since 2019 the Japanese company has owned 49.9% of the Italian brand's shares. This is a real relaunch after having already worked together for 5 years now on the 2-wheel market with the launch of some models.
In the 2025 World Superbike season, Bimota will partner with Kawasaki, creating a true joint venture that will lead to a motorcycle built with a Bimota chassis and Kawasaki engine, that of the Ninja ZX-10RR.
Many Kawasaki team staff will move to the Bimota racing program and the team will take the name of both entities: Bimota by Kawasaki World Racing Team, as the bike will be developed by both entities.
The objective is clear, which is to increase sales of Bimota motorcycles in the motorcycle market. In Japan, therefore, they still believe in motorsport as a real platform to advertise and sell their road products. A showcase that is still attractive for enthusiasts and users of road two-wheelers.
Speaking about Kawasaki's new direction in WorldSBK, President and CEO of Kawasaki Motors, Ltd., Hiroshi Ito, said: “Bimota has an enviable reputation for excellence in motorcycle design and manufacturing. As part of our vision of the evolution of this world-famous brand, we see racing as a logical next step in terms of product development and exposure of the brand on the global stage.”
“Our commitment to WorldSBK is as strong as ever and we hope that this new racing project will inspire Bimota and Kawasaki fans. The passion for racing success remains and we can't wait for the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team to be present on the 2025 WorldSBK grid”.
On behalf of Bimota, chief operations officer Pierluigi Marconi added: “The engineering, technology and daily commercial support already offered by Kawasaki have brought Bimota back into the awareness of the media and potential customers, now it's time to go one step further. step forward in our evolution.”
“Bimota has had racing as part of its DNA since day one and competing in WorldSBK alongside the development of our new product range, whilst expanding the European and global dealer network, makes undeniable logic.”
“The unparalleled experience of the Kawasaki racing team experts and the full support and cooperation of Kawasaki Motors, Ltd. in Japan fill us with pride and optimism. The Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team will certainly form the foundation of the next chapter of the Bimota history” .
Guim Roda, team manager of the Kawasaki World Superbike Team, concluded: “Over the last thirteen years, I and all the employees of the KRT workshop in Granollers have dedicated ourselves wholeheartedly to the Kawasaki Superbike project, winning seven riders' titles in this period of WorldSBK and numerous team and manufacturer awards.”
“Now, after Kawasaki has competed in the Superbike championship for almost four decades, we are proud to be part of a new era, forming the infrastructure of the new Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team. We will certainly take some time to reflect and celebrate the Kawasaki's legacy in Superbike racing, but we are also extremely excited to be a key component of this new joint venture between Bimota and Kawasaki.”
“This is an evolution in Kawasaki's approach to the highest level of series racing and we are honored to play our role in this new project. I am confident that we have the technology and human resources necessary to succeed and it will be an fresh and inspiring experience to field an impressive two-rider team in the 2025 Motul FIM WorldSBK Championship.”
#Bimota #returns #SBK #joining #forces #Kawasaki
