Hunting the Ducatis
The Manufacturers’ Championship standings of the 2026 Superbike World Championship see Ducati alone in the lead, which thanks to the six victories collected by Nicolò Bulega and the three consecutive doubles in the last Round of Portimão is the only entity to have surpassed 100 points. Behind it, exactly 50 points behind, is another Italian manufacturer that performed well in the first two rounds of the world championship: Bimota.
Read more Assen 2026: program and TV schedule
The main difference
The Coriano-based company, which returned to Superbike last year after a long absence, has achieved a total of three podiums, all at Phillip Island: in addition to Axel Bassani’s two 2nd places, in the Superpole Race Alex Lowes also reached the top 3, finishing third in this case. However, the gap between Bimota and Ducati is not only due to the results achieved by the latter’s official team, Aruba.it, but also by the satellite teams of Borgo Panigale, which are non-existent at Bimota, which competes with only two official KB998 Rimini.
Read more Official the Rally of Scotland from 2027: the WRC returns to Great Britain
Is it therefore possible that the Rimini team could soon start a project aimed at debuting two satellite teams? For the British rider, it is not at all an unlikely hypothesis, but it does not depend on him: “Yes, of course. It could be a good thing if done the right way and with good support – he explained to the media – I think having more bikes on the grid is always positive. Axel and I are similar in supporting each other, and this is already bearing fruit. I would like to see more engines on the grid, but it is not my job. Do you want to beat your teammate? Or, let’s say, win a satellite race. Of course. You want to be the first with Bimota, but you also want your teammates to do well, because you want the team to be as competitive as possible, to stimulate each other, and I think this is positive for everyone. So, if there were more bikes on the grid from the same manufacturer, I think you could help each other, but managing the satellite team is not my job.”
