English
Italiano
Axel Bassani was one of the major protagonists of this Friday in Assen. In fact, surprisingly, the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team rider managed to set the second best time in FP2, putting his KB998 between the two challengers Nicolò Bulega and Toprak Razgatlioglu. Encouraging signs for El Bocia, who, however, does not want to get carried away by enthusiasm.
"It's always nice to be in the top three, but it's only Friday and Friday is always a strange day because you don't know what the other riders are feeling. However, second position is always a good place and we have to be happy about it, although at the same time we have to stay focused because the important sessions will come tomorrow, when we will have Superpole and Race 1 - noted Bassani - We also have to be realistic, because I think our current potential allows us to be between fifth and tenth, because BMW and Ducati have a race pace quite different from ours. However, never say never: we are here to do our best and we will try."
Although it is only free practice, the second time set by the Feltre rider is a good indicator of the progress made in his adaptation to the Bimota and the development of the Romagna bike.
"We have to remember that this is the first time we are facing this track with this bike. This means that the team is doing a great job and Bimota, in particular, is pushing hard on the chassis and everything else to try to help us get the best solutions. As in Portimao, you can easily see that we lose something on the straight. However, the difference is less pronounced, we are further ahead, so we will see. The important thing tomorrow is to stay calm and try to close the race in the best possible position," said Axel, who did not want to go out of line in his predictions about the race. "Bulega has another pace, but I think Toprak can stay with him. They are one step ahead as always. Locatelli is always fast here, but I haven't watched the others much. I will check better later, but I don't know what position I could be in. We'll see tomorrow."
There is still work to be done at Bimota to be able to exploit the full potential of the KB998.
"I think I have some margin.We have made adjustments to the chassis, but there are still a lot of things we can do. The problem right now is that we don't have a lot of time to test everything. Also because we have only a few days of testing and it's hard to try new things during race weekends. The chassis, in particular, has a lot of potential, while that of the engine we have used almost all of it, because it is always the same," Axel noted, "We are operating it at 100 percent and it is working well because it is a very good powertrain, but now I would say we have reached the limit from that point of view."
Although the Bimota shares the engine with the Kawasaki he rode last year, it is impossible for Bassani to take advantage of last season's data.
"I don't use anything from the Kawasaki or last year, because the bike is quite different. The engine is the same, so the sensations are quite similar, especially those given by the engine braking on corner entry and those on exit, but the bike works differently. We start from scratch," he underlined, "During the winter tests I used a set-up, which then we started to modify a lot in the first races, also because the tires also changed. I would say that between Portimao and here, I more or less found my basic set-up and I like it. I need to improve in some points, but I hope to be able to do that tomorrow."
Talking about where he can make gains the Bimota rider said, "In braking, because now I brake harder, and I have also improved in slow corners and acceleration. But now I don't feel particularly comfortable in fast corners, because I lose grip quickly in the rear. So, we will try to focus on this part of the circuit."
Top speed is also not one of KB998's strengths. "Last year the bike was faster because not having wings made it easier to pick up speed. This year, however, the wings help with rideability, and in corner exit, but we lose something in top speed. We have to figure out what to do," explained El Bocia, who struggles to keep up with Ducati and BMW on the straight: "On the rest of the circuit I feel pretty strong, but compared to them we lose on the straight."
