Although Bimota is not a typical factory, the dream of Valerio Bianchi and Giuseppe Morri and Massimo Tamburini is still alive 50 years later. One of the characteristics that marked the project that took its name from the initials of the surnames of its founders, is that they never developed their own engines.
Throughout history they have used Yamaha, Ducati, BMW, Honda, Suzuki, Gilera and, now, they work hand in hand with Kawasaki. As a curiosity, when you see a Bimota model it gives you a clue about the engine it uses because the initial usually appears in the name.
But returning to the competition, practically from the beginning they were linked to it. So much so that they achieved the title of 350 World Champions in 1980. A few years later, in '87, with the YB4R (Yamaha engine), they took the Formula 1 TT title. When it gave way to WSBK, Davide Tardozzi and Stephane Mertens managed to win seven races although they did not win the title. Even at the beginning of this century Bimota competed and won with the recently deceased Anthony Gobert.
Bimota returns to the World Superbike closely linked to Kawasaki
Now, almost half a century later, Bimota is ready to return to the World Superbike. In 2025 it will be one of the brands that make up the series-derived motorcycle championship, and they will do so in conjunction with Kawasaki, which is currently the majority partner of the brand of Italian origin.
They will use the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR engine but not its chassis. And unlike what we see in MotoGP, there will not be a Kawasaki with Bimota stickers but rather they will have their own chassis. A chassis that the two brands are currently developing. The relationship between both firms will be very close, so much so that the name of the team will be Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team and will have three axes: Bimota, Kawasaki and the KRT, captained by Guim Roda.
For now there is no more information or any photographs or videos of the bike, but what is certain is that next year's grid will have a new bike and, possibly, different from what we are used to seeing in recent years.
