WorldSBK: Axel Bassani: “I hope to be like Tom Sykes, Jonathan Rea in the future”

Bassa💯ni was signed to replace the six-time WorldSBK champion following Rea’s departure for Yamaha.
Twice the top indepe🅰ndent rider of the year with mtocorsa Ducati, Bassani was a no-brainer in terms of deserving a factory rid𓆉e.
- “I didn’t expect it”🥂 - Bulega’s pac꧑e at Jerez surprises Bautista
- Andrea Iannone will be ‘a⛦ pain in the ars🐬e to beat’, says Alex Lowes
But after that door𒊎 closed at Ducati, leaving for Kawasaki who h🏅ave slowly lost touch with the Italian manufacturer and Yamaha, was Bassani’s only option.
12th fastest 🍸at the recent Jerez test, Bassani gave his first thoughts of the ZX-10RR and where improvements need to come.
“Lap after lap I started to feel good wᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚith the bike,” said Bassani. “It’s only the first two days but step-by-step we are trying to learn and to be competitive. We have some areas we need to work on but especially with wheelie.”
Bassani♔ continued his assessment of the Kawasaki machine but admitting it is different to the Panigale V4 R ‘in all areas’.
Speaking to WorldSBK.com, Bassani said: “It’s different in all areas! The brakes and also in acceleration but it’s good; when something is new, you need time to understand and after, when you’re ready, yo✅u can push.
“It’s not easy to have a different engine – V4 compared to inline𒉰 four. We need more time; the right🍎 answer is ‘time’.
“It’s special in KRT﷽ as there’s a lot of people with a lot of experience and it is nice to be part of this team𒊎.
“I hope in the future to be like Tom Sykes or, maybe not like Jonny b﷽ecause it’s not easy but 10% of Jonny!”