MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

The news that Bimota is returning to WorldSBK in 2025 came as a surprise to the paddock. The withdrawal of Kawasaki as a full-factory effort from the series, after eight World Championships, blindsided many but what does it actually mean for the series?

In many ways it will be business as usual. Provec Racing, the Catalan team that has morphed into the Kawasaki Racing Team over the years, has been the factory supported squad for the championship since 2011. In that time the team, led by the Roda brothers, became the standard bearer of the series. This success culminated in Jonathan Rea’s unprecedented six titles in a row. Since 2021, though, the team and manufacturer have fallen on harder times.

Switching from Kawasaki to Bimota is a decision that has been a considerable time in the making. In 2019 Kawasaki Heavy Industries purchased Bimota. KHI is a massive company and their motorcycle division is a tiny part of a massive empire. With almost 40,000 employees KHI is involved in a myriad of industries including aeronautical, shipping, off-shore structures, rail and many more. Motorcycling is the part we care about but it’s only a small part of what makes that company tick.

Brand value

With that in mind it’s easy to see why switching to the Bimota brand makes sense. The Italian firm is a historic marque. It’s a famous name with a rich history. Over the decades Bimota’s brand built up an enthusiastic base. While not evoking the same response as Ducati or MV Augusta, they are a brand that means something to many. This tugging on the heartstrings is the main reason for the Superbike racing switch in 2025.

Nobody likes to think of motorcycle racing as a balance sheet sport. Passion is what fuels the sport rather than profit and loss columns...or at least that’s how we look at it. For KHI this switch makes perfect sense. For Kawasaki to build a new Superbike would take an investment of tens of millions of dollars. To build a new super limited edition Bimota Superbike with Kawasaki power instead means that there can be now a limited edition homologation special. Of course this was also possible using the green brand, but would customers pay up to €45,000 for a Kawasaki Ninja? No. Will they do it for a luxury brand with a historic name? Time will tell.

For Provec Racing the switch should mean that the majority of their on-site personnel remains the same. There is no need to break up their existing structures but, at least in the short term, you would expect involvement from Bimota’s side on chassis development. With a new brand coming into the the Provec should be exempt from testing restrictions. You can expect that a test team will be busy running around European circuits in the coming months.

Same names, different pressures

For Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani the news brings with it different pressures. Lowes is out of contract at the end of the season but has been one of the surprise packages of 2024. With only one mistake, during Sunday’s Race 2 at Assen where he crashed, he has become the team leader following Jonathan Rea’s departure. His relationship with Pere Riba has been very successful thus far and the crew chief will be keen to keep his rider in place. Bassani has a second year remaining on his Kawasaki contract and that will carry forward to the new project.

The decision by Kawasaki also brought out plenty of rumours online. Does this mean that Kawasaki are now planning a MotoGP return with the new 2027 regulations package set to be announced? The indications are that this is a decision based strictly on market requirements and rebranding.

Another question that immediately surfaced was “did Rea know this was coming?” The answer to this is almost certainly no. Rea made his decision to leave and had to pay a hefty release clause for the privilege. He made his decision because last year, prior to the rule changes for 2024, he saw little chance of challenging for the championship again on the ZX10-RR.

For the future Independent teams will still be able to race the Kawasaki and it remains to be seen what this announcement means for Puccetti Racing. The team has ran Kawasaki machinery in both the Supersport and Superbike classes but there was no mention of what they will compete with in 2025.

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