Racing To Recovery
Racing to Recovery
Bimota comes back from the brink
THE VDUE DEBACLE DAMAGED MORE THAN BIMOTA'S reputation-it nearly forced the company to close its doors for good. The recall caused the assembly line to shut down for eight months, and with no product going out, there was no money coming in. The vultures were circling.
Fortunately, on October 13, 1998, a deal was struck with a consortium of Italian investors led by Francesco Tognon, fresh from his leading role in resurrecting Laverda. The $12 million buyout saw Bimota SpA renamed Bimota Motor SpA, with all assets of the company, including its many patents, turned over to the new owners. The other principals are textile and woodworking magnates Edoardo Mirogili and Adriano Aureli, each of whom owns 25 percent to Tognon's controlling 50 percent.
But while the influx of capital means Bimota will be able to go on producing its legendary, custom-framed sportbikes, there were two casualties: First, Bimota will not be building Vertemati dirtbikes as previously announced; and second, the badge-labeled Asian scooters targeted at the European market have been dropped.
According to newly appointed Assistant Managing Director Massimo Marmotti (himself an alumnus of Ducati and Fiat), the immediate goal is to return Bimota's reputation to its former glory through success in racing. To that end, the company has formed an independent racing division, Bimota Experience, headed by Davide Genghini, a long-time Bimota marketing executive with a keen interest in competition.
While the ultimate goal is to campaign the SB8R in the World Superbike Championship in the year 2000, Bimota plans to contest the British and German Superbike Championships, various international endurance races and the Isle of Man TT in 1999. In fact, the SB8R already has a proven track record, having completed three 24-hour endurance races last year, twice topping the Prototype class.
This coming season will also see the return of the Yamaha YZF600-powered YB9SRI to World Supersport competition, as well as to Italian 600cc Stock Production racing, where it will wear the number-one plate as the defending series champion. The fuel-injected Four has proven dominant in the latter category, having won the title three times in the last five years, while finishing second and third in the other two. Not bad for a company with one foot in the grave. -Brian Catterson
