2023-12-26 16:15:38
In autumn 2012, the Spanish agency Dorna took over the Superbike World Championship; the first few years were difficult. In economically difficult times, every manufacturer and team was happy that they took part in the top category. In 2014, the so-called EVO category was introduced for less sophisticated motorcycles – it was the introduction to regulations that were closer to series production.
Bimota tried to use the opportunity to enter the Superbike World Championship with the BB3. Bimota joined forces with Francis Batta’s Belgian Alstare team. In 1988, Davide Tardozzi won the debut race of the Superbike World Championship at Donington Park on a Bimota. The Italian came third in the World Championship in the same year and Bimota was the second best manufacturer behind Honda!
Of course, promoter Dorna Bimota rolled out the red carpet. Fans and experts alike rubbed their eyes in amazement because Bimota previously only produced around 100 motorcycles per year. At that time, a thousand of one model were needed to meet the homologation requirements for the Superbike World Championship!
Bimota also had a shaky business model. Because there was too little equity, new motorcycles were financed from the sale of bikes that had already been produced. If sales stall, there is no money to pay suppliers like BMW (engines) and production comes to a standstill.
The small series manufacturer from Rimini had until August 13th to build 125 motorcycles. This project already failed, not to mention 1,000 machines in two years. So Bimota was excluded from the championship three meetings before the end of the season.
The drivers Ayrton Badovini and Christian Iddon achieved solid results in the Evo category. The Italian even achieved a top 10 finish in Donington (race 2). In the end, the pilots were deprived of all the World Championship points they had achieved. Racing partner Alstare later took Bimota to court. It was regarding high claims for damages.
In the 1970s, Bimota made a name for itself as a manufacturer of exclusive chassis for engines from various manufacturers. The first letter of the engine supplier was taken into account in the model name. The first Bimota that might be registered was the HB-1 with a Honda engine in 1975. As a result, engines from Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha, and later also from BMW and Ducati, were installed.
Also because the small series were incredibly expensive, Bimota was never able to tap into a large market. After bankruptcies and revivals, the two Italian-Swiss building contractors Daniele Longoni and Marco Chiancianesi took over Bimota in 2013. Kawasaki has held a 49.9 percent stake in Bimota since 2019.
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