Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team Heads to Estoril for Penultimate WorldSBK Round

Alex Lowes enters the Portuguese round fourth in the championship, while Axel Bassani targets a strong finish to the season and a place inside the top six.

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The 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship heads into its penultimate round this weekend, with the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team travelling to Estoril, Portugal, for Round 11 of the 12-round season from 9 to 11 October.

The Circuito Estoril, located near Lisbon, will host WorldSBK action for another year after becoming a regular fixture on the calendar in recent seasons. The 4.182-kilometre circuit returned to the WorldSBK calendar in 2020 and, apart from 2023, has remained part of the championship schedule.

First used for racing in 1972, Estoril combines its traditional layout with several sections that have been modified over the years, including the opening corner.

Alex Lowes heads into the weekend fourth in the overall championship standings, while teammate Axel Bassani sits seventh, just nine points behind the rider immediately ahead of him.

Both BbKRT riders have secured podium finishes during the 2026 campaign and have regularly featured inside the top five despite the Bimota KB998 Rimini receiving two maximum fuel-flow balancing reductions during the season.

Estoril will also provide the team with another opportunity to assess the KB998 Rimini at a more established circuit following the previous round at Cremona, where Bimota competed at its home round at the newly introduced Italian venue.

The WorldSBK weekend begins on Friday, 9 October, with two Free Practice sessions. Saturday will feature FP3, Superpole qualifying and the 21-lap Race One.

Sunday’s schedule starts with a warm-up session followed by the 10-lap Superpole Race. The weekend will conclude with Race Two, a 23-lap encounter scheduled to start at 3.30pm local time.

Only the WorldSBK and WorldSSP classes will compete at Estoril, before the championship paddock heads to Spain for the season finale at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto from 16 to 18 October.

For Lowes, Estoril’s technical final sector is one of the circuit’s key features and an area he particularly enjoys: “Estoril is an interesting track. It is a little bit old-school and features some really fun corners. I like Sector Three because it’s tricky and technical.”

“The long final right-hand corner is a lot of fun and also important during the races. Like always, I will work hard on Friday with the guys in the team to be as strong as possible on Saturday and Sunday. I can’t wait to get started,” said Lowes.

Bassani, meanwhile, is aiming to close the season strongly and challenge for a top-six championship finish. The Italian acknowledged that Estoril’s long main straight could present a challenge for the KB998 Rimini, particularly in the higher gears, but believes the team can make up ground through the corners.

“Now we go to Estoril, the penultimate round of the championship before the last one in Jerez. There is a long main straight that is normally not good for us, especially when we are in the top few gears,”

“But we will try to recover time in the corners, like we did in the last few races. We will try to enjoy the last few races of the year and do our maximum to finish inside the top six of the championship, by being consistent and taking the most points possible,” said Bassani.

With only two rounds remaining, the Estoril weekend will be an important opportunity for BbKRT to add to its podium tally and strengthen its position before the 2026 WorldSBK season concludes in Jerez one week later.