Source: Cycle World
Will Bimota race the KB4, a version of the Tesi, or something completely different? (Bimota/)The 2025 WorldSBK series will see the return of Bimota to competition. Kawasaki, Bimota’s majority shareholder, announced that SBK series top contender Kawasaki Racing Team will evolve into Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team. This is a radical approach by the giant Kawasaki Group that focused on the SBK racing formula to challenge the world with its production bikes. Competition has grown tougher, with Ducati and BMW Motorrad having developed real racing machinery manufactured in limited numbers by highly specialized departments. It seems Kawasaki plans to do the same with Bimota.Bimota has a great tradition in the creation of highly competent motorcycle chassis. The brand actually started from that, when Maestro Massimo Tamburini designed and physically manufactured a real sport-oriented, lightweight chassis for his personal MV Agusta 750 Sport. From then on, Bimota thrived on the designing and manufacturing of racing and sport chassis that would contribute to extracting the best from a variety of power units, from the Yamaha TZ250 and 350 two-stroke twins to the legendary Kawasaki 900 and Suzuki 750, and then 1000, and more.This superb capability remained soaked inside of Bimota’s shop—the tradition of excellence is still there, thanks to the competence of today’s Bimota COO Pierluigi Marconi. He started working there under the wing of Tamburini and conceived and brought to full functionality his hub-steerer concept Tesi. In what will prove a positive long-sighted move, Kawasaki acquired Bimota in 2019 and from then on the Rimini-based factory rebuilt its ability to generate both outstanding new concepts and beautifully manufactured sportbikes.Pierluigi Marconi’s hub-steer Tesi front end on the Tesi H2. (Bimota/)Once it returned to full activity with the full financial and technical support of Kawasaki, Bimota generated its hottest-performing model ever: the Tesi H2, powered by the terrific Kawasaki 1,000cc supercharged H2 power unit.At this stage it is not known whether the next Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team will field an evolution of that most iconic model, or will develop a model based on a more classic chassis. But that is less relevant than the basic fact that Bimota is returning to SBK with Kawasaki Racing Team entering a bike powered by the Ninja ZX-10RR engine—but assembled and finished on the Rimini assembly line rather than in Hyogo Prefecture. What is for sure is that it will be a production model fully available through the Bimota and Kawasaki dealer network and rigorously complying with the WorldSBK rule book.Speaking about the new direction for Kawasaki in WorldSBK, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kawasaki Motors Ltd. Hiroshi Ito stated: “Bimota has an enviable reputation for excellence in motorcycle design and manufacturing. As part of our vision for the evolution of this world-famous brand we see racing as a logical next step in terms of both product development as well as brand exposure on the global stage. Our commitment to WorldSBK is as strong as ever and we hope that this new racing project will energize fans of both Bimota and Kawasaki. The passion for race success remains and we look forward to the presence of the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team on the 2025 WorldSBK grid.”Imagine seeing a hub-steer bike on the WorldSBK grid in 2025! (Bimota/)Bimota’s last outing in WorldSBK was in 2000, when the late Antony Gobert led his SB8 to victory in the Australian round in Phillip Island. KRT team manager Guim Roda concluded: “In the past 13 years, myself and all of those at the KRT workshop in Granollers [Spain] have dedicated ourselves wholeheartedly to the Kawasaki Superbike project and garnered seven WorldSBK rider titles in that time plus numerous team and manufacturer awards. Now, after Kawasaki competing for nearly four decades in the Superbike championship, we are proud to be part of a new era forming the infrastructure of the new Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team that will enter two Kawasaki-Bimota bikes. For sure we will spare some time to reflect on and celebrate the heritage of Kawasaki in Superbike racing, but we are also extremely excited to be a core component of this new Bimota and Kawasaki joint venture. This is an evolution for Kawasaki’s approach to the top level of production racing.”After being acquired by Kawasaki Motor, Bimota has progressed quietly, shaping its capabilities according to its role within the Kawasaki Motor Group; now comes the big challenge. As Bimota COO Pierluigi Marconi stated, this is a powerful projection on the forefront of the racing scene. In association with Kawasaki, this endeavor will surely form the foundations of the next chapter in the Bimota story.
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Will Bimota race the KB4, a version of the Tesi, or something completely different? (Bimota/)
The 2025 WorldSBK series will see the return of Bimota to competition. Kawasaki, Bimota’s majority shareholder, announced that SBK series top contender Kawasaki Racing Team will evolve into Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team. This is a radical approach by the giant Kawasaki Group that focused on the SBK racing formula to challenge the world with its production bikes. Competition has grown tougher, with Ducati and BMW Motorrad having developed real racing machinery manufactured in limited numbers by highly specialized departments. It seems Kawasaki plans to do the same with Bimota.
Bimota has a great tradition in the creation of highly competent motorcycle chassis. The brand actually started from that, when Maestro Massimo Tamburini designed and physically manufactured a real sport-oriented, lightweight chassis for his personal MV Agusta 750 Sport. From then on, Bimota thrived on the designing and manufacturing of racing and sport chassis that would contribute to extracting the best from a variety of power units, from the Yamaha TZ250 and 350 two-stroke twins to the legendary Kawasaki 900 and Suzuki 750, and then 1000, and more.
This superb capability remained soaked inside of Bimota’s shop—the tradition of excellence is still there, thanks to the competence of today’s Bimota COO Pierluigi Marconi. He started working there under the wing of Tamburini and conceived and brought to full functionality his hub-steerer concept Tesi. In what will prove a positive long-sighted move, Kawasaki acquired Bimota in 2019 and from then on the Rimini-based factory rebuilt its ability to generate both outstanding new concepts and beautifully manufactured sportbikes.
Pierluigi Marconi’s hub-steer Tesi front end on the Tesi H2. (Bimota/)
Once it returned to full activity with the full financial and technical support of Kawasaki, Bimota generated its hottest-performing model ever: the Tesi H2, powered by the terrific Kawasaki 1,000cc supercharged H2 power unit.
At this stage it is not known whether the next Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team will field an evolution of that most iconic model, or will develop a model based on a more classic chassis. But that is less relevant than the basic fact that Bimota is returning to SBK with Kawasaki Racing Team entering a bike powered by the Ninja ZX-10RR engine—but assembled and finished on the Rimini assembly line rather than in Hyogo Prefecture. What is for sure is that it will be a production model fully available through the Bimota and Kawasaki dealer network and rigorously complying with the WorldSBK rule book.
Speaking about the new direction for Kawasaki in WorldSBK, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kawasaki Motors Ltd. Hiroshi Ito stated: “Bimota has an enviable reputation for excellence in motorcycle design and manufacturing. As part of our vision for the evolution of this world-famous brand we see racing as a logical next step in terms of both product development as well as brand exposure on the global stage. Our commitment to WorldSBK is as strong as ever and we hope that this new racing project will energize fans of both Bimota and Kawasaki. The passion for race success remains and we look forward to the presence of the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team on the 2025 WorldSBK grid.”
Imagine seeing a hub-steer bike on the WorldSBK grid in 2025! (Bimota/)
Bimota’s last outing in WorldSBK was in 2000, when the late Antony Gobert led his SB8 to victory in the Australian round in Phillip Island. KRT team manager Guim Roda concluded: “In the past 13 years, myself and all of those at the KRT workshop in Granollers [Spain] have dedicated ourselves wholeheartedly to the Kawasaki Superbike project and garnered seven WorldSBK rider titles in that time plus numerous team and manufacturer awards. Now, after Kawasaki competing for nearly four decades in the Superbike championship, we are proud to be part of a new era forming the infrastructure of the new Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team that will enter two Kawasaki-Bimota bikes. For sure we will spare some time to reflect on and celebrate the heritage of Kawasaki in Superbike racing, but we are also extremely excited to be a core component of this new Bimota and Kawasaki joint venture. This is an evolution for Kawasaki’s approach to the top level of production racing.”
After being acquired by Kawasaki Motor, Bimota has progressed quietly, shaping its capabilities according to its role within the Kawasaki Motor Group; now comes the big challenge. As Bimota COO Pierluigi Marconi stated, this is a powerful projection on the forefront of the racing scene. In association with Kawasaki, this endeavor will surely form the foundations of the next chapter in the Bimota story.
