There is no new bike to develop for the Bimota team in the 2026 WorldSBK preseason as there was last year, but it is in any case a new beginning of sorts for Axel Bassani, who starts working with a new crew chief for the new season.

The two-day WorldSBK test in Jerez on 26–27 November was the first chance for Bassani to begin working with his new crew chief, Oriol Pallares, who moves over to Bimota from Yamaha where he was Jonathan Rea’s crew chief in 2025.

Bassani, as well as his Bimota teammate Alex Lowes, only rode the second day in Jerez, test rider Xavi Fores having taken on riding duties on day one.

The second day, then, was Bassani’s only chance to begin building the relationship with Pallares, who is not an all-new addition to the Provec-run Bimota team, having worked as chief mechanic to the aforementioned Rea during the Northern Irishman’s time at Kawasaki.

In any case, it was a complicated day for Bassani, who found himself under the weather on his only day of testing in November.

“For me it’s been a little bit difficult day because I’m a little bit sick,” Bassani said, speaking to WorldSBK.com. 

“So, I had some difficulties – especially after some laps it was difficult for me to breathe inside the helmet. 

“But, in the end, we did a lot of laps, we tried a lot of things. 

“In the end, I’m quite happy about the work we did in the test, especially it was the first time for me working with my new crew chief [Oriol Pallares], so we need a bit of time to try to work in the perfect way. But I’m happy.”

Expanding on his first day working with Pallares, Bassani added: “It’s nice, he’s a good person, professional person. Slowly we start to work and understand without putting too much pressure on us because, in the end, the pace was not bad. 

“But we are always three or four tenths [behind] Alex [Lowes], but Alex today was the best rider on-track.

“This is good for the team, this means the bike starts to work in a good way. But it’s only the first step for us, so from here we start to work.”

There were new items to try for Bassani, but their benefits need to be analysed before testing resumes in January.

“Something new,” he said. “New rear shock, some new things. 

“But now we have to put all together – we tried a lot of things. We need to understand what is good for us and what is not, and in January we will start I think with a better idea on what we need to do.”