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SBK, Bassani: "The Bimota reminds me a bit of the Motocorsa Ducati."

"The feeling is not the same because it's a different bike, but they come close in fast corners because of the wings. The chassis works well and we still have margin, but we have to stay calm because we are lacking Toprak."

SBK: Bassani:

After surprising everyone in the tests in November, Axel Bassani and the Bimota were protagonists of another good performance at Jerez. For a long time amongst the top positions, the rider from the Veneto in fact ended the day in fifth place. Despite having returned to the pits much earlier than some of his rivals.

"It went quite well, because we finished much earlier than the others: we only lapped half a day," explained the 25-year-old, drawing a positive balance of his Wednesday despite some discomfort due to the weather conditions: "I suffered a little bit from the wind, it was bothering me quite a bit and I didn't have the same sensations I had in the last test last year. We still managed to keep up with the others, always staying in the top two or three, which is good. In my opinion, though, we still have a lot of work to do, because we have to improve and understand how the bike works when it's not sunny and 30° C. Today there were a little different conditions and I suffered. Every problem is a first for us and with time we will understand what we need."

It is precisely the behavior of his bike in the different conditions that is one of the areas Bassani will focus on most in the coming days of testing.

"The aspect I have most to find out? How the bike reacts in different conditions. As I said before, we have always ridden on a perfect track except today, when conditions were a little different and we suffered a little. But that's normal because it's new," he noted, "We've figured out a little something we can do to improve, but every day we discover something new and it will be like that especially at Portimao, when we change the track completely. Maybe we'll do great or maybe we'll get into trouble, but we know we need time to figure it out and we'll take our time."

The premise of this adjustment seems great, but the Feltre rider wants to keep his feet on the ground.

"In the last tests we were strong, but the others weren't there, and we did well today as well, but Toprak is missing, and as they say in my neck of the woods, 'it's pointless to do the sums if the innkeeper is missing.' We have to stay calm, because now we are all going strong and everything is good, but we will have to see when he comes, because for me he is still a step above the others," he admitted, "The BMW is a great bike: it works very well, because you can see they have improved a lot. But it is Toprak who makes the difference, and we have to try to get to his level."

Despite being an all-new project, Axel already seems to be much more comfortable riding the Bimota than he was on the Kawasaki he rode in 2024.

"The chassis? It's different. It's a different bike, and even though the engine is the same, it feels like a different one because of the way you accelerate, brake and go through the corners. The chassis is working well and in my opinion we still have a lot of margin, because we haven't really done anything we can do yet. We have to do it slowly, though, because it just takes a moment to lose your way and not understand anything anymore," said the 25-year-old, who is rediscovering some of the sensations with the Rimini bike that he had with the Motocorsa Ducati: "Especially in the fast corners, because of the wings. It's not the same because it's a different bike, but it reminded me a little bit of it."

 

Translated by Julian Thomas

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