For the first time in 2025 the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team will approach a circuit that has not been used as a testing venue before the first free practice sessions begin. This will bring its own challenges but also its own opportunities, as the unique layout of the Assen racetrack has often provided close racing over more than three decades of use as a WorldSBK venue.

After the opening two rounds of the championship - in Australia and Portugal - the first event in northern Europe sees Bassani sitting eighth in the overall championship rankings, just one point behind seventh place. The most recent race at the Portimao round saw Axel finish a season-best seventh on the bimota KB998 Rimini; the customer version of which will be available from April 9 in European bimota dealers.
 
A strong start in Australia for Lowes contrasted with some misfortune in Portimao, where despite showing good pace Alex was to leave without adding to his points total from the opening round. Alex is currently 13th overall with a personal best seventh place finish in the Superpole Race at Phillip Island.

Alex took his first career WorldSBK pole position at Assen, and has taken two podium places at the circuit located in the north of the Netherlands.

The TT Circuit Assen has been an almost-constant presence on the WorldSBK calendar since it hosted its first WorldSBK round in 1992. It was once much longer than its current 4.542km design as it started out life as a regular public roads course. Despite many stages of track redesign and essential modernisation over the years, Assen still features some unique slipstreaming opportunities and fast cornering sections which demand both stability and manoeuvrability from the machine to handle several quick changes of direction.

The race weekend at Assen will begin on Friday 11 April, with two free practice sessions. Free Practice Three, Superpole Qualifying and the first of two 21-lap races will take place on Saturday 12 April. Sunday 13 April will see a final warm-up session precede a ten-lap Superpole Race and then a second full-distance Race Two.

Alex Lowes, stated: “Assen is always a great place to ride, plus the fans are fantastic and welcoming. I think the layout is one everyone enjoys and we have great memories of watching races on the old layouts. For us and the bimota KB998 Rimini it’s a new track and another chance to keep learning and improving the bike. I felt a step forward in performance in Portimao although the results clearly didn’t reflect that. I’m excited to get back on track after a tough round last time out. As always, we will work hard on Friday and see if we can fight for our best results so far with the KB998.”

Axel Bassani, stated: “This is really the first time for us with the bimota KB998 Rimini at this circuit. It is also completely different from any circuit we have ridden at until now. We will see how it does. In Portimao at the previous round it was quite difficult for us because we were missing some speed on the straight. I think the data speaks for this. But in the rest of the track, in the corners where you have to ride, the bike is working well and we are quite fast. Assen is a mixture of everything. Yes, there are high speed sections but you also have to have a bike which is easy to ride, because there are a lot of fast changes of direction. It is important to have a really stable bike - and a really ‘light’ feeling bike - to handle these changes of direction. As it is the first time we have been there there is a lot of work to do for me and also my team-mate Alex. We will try to do our best and we know our potential.”