BSB's newest manufacturer hits the track for the first time at WorldSBK test

The Bimota BSB team has completed its first day of testing ahead of the first round of the 2026 season during the WorldSBK test at Portimao.

Bimota was on-track at the Portuguese circuit with both its riders for the 2026 season: Max Cook and Joe Talbot. They were not the only BSB riders present, as Kyle Ryde also rode.

Day one was the first chance for both riders to experience the Bimota KB998 in BSB specification. The bike debuted in World Superbike last season, and will make its first appearance in BSB this year with the FS-3 team run by Nigel Snook which was previously the official Kawasaki team in the championship.

The opening day of the Portimao test was hit by rain in the afternoon, as seems to be mandatory for a WorldSBK test at this point, but both riders were able to get on-track for their first experience of the new bike, one which certainly made an impression on Cook.

“Just finished day one here at Portimao, day one on the new Bimota,” Cook said afterwards in a video posted to the AJN Steelstock Bimota team’s Instagram page.

“Honestly, it was such a good day, the bike just feels like a race bike – it’s a proper weapon.

“As soon as we went out of pit lane I just had a smile on my face and thought ‘This bike is unbelievable’. 

“It just does everything so well, it corners so well, it’s so stable under the brakes, it’s really fast as well. 

“It’s quite different to what I’m used to. We’ve got another day of open pit lane tomorrow, the weather’s looking quite good, so really excited to improve and testing the limits.”

Joe Talbot spoke in a separate video posted on Tuesday morning, the rookie explaining that these first days on the bike are about adapting.
“What an experience it was, loved every second of it,” he said.

“We got not as many laps as we wanted due to the weather, but hopefully [on Tuesday] we can spin more laps and allow myself just to learn and just lap after lap just generate data so I can just get used to the bike. 

“So, mega experience, really enjoyed myself, and can’t wait for more testing and more days on the bike just to get more used to it all. 

“So, just want to thank the whole team for allowing us to do this out in Portimao and can’t wait for Donington Park in April.”