Bayliss kicking ass!

Valencia, Feb 09: Troy Bayliss showed that three years away in MotoGP have done him no harm by breaking the Superbike lap record at the Valencia track in Spain on Tuesday (February 7).

The 2001 Superbike world champion eclipsed Neil Hodgson's 2003 time by a third of a second and was a full second quicker than Ducati Xerox team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi.

2004 champion James Toseland, who lost his seat to Bayliss and is now riding a Honda, clocked similar times to Lanzi and new team-mate Karl Muggeridge.

Tuesday at the Valencia circuit in Spain saw some of the World Superbike riders embark on their last testing session before the first race in Qatar on February the 25th.

The Ducati Xerox team is expected to be at the front of the field and in Lorenzo Lanzi they have one of the rising stars of the grid.

The Italian made a huge impression at the Eurospeedway Lausitz in September by taking Superpole while deputising for the injured Regis Laconi, before winning Race Two.

And having returned to the privateer Ducati SC Caracchi team he took the final race of the season in Magny-Cours.

Now at the works Ducati team, Lanzi should have more success and he produced some respectable times here, clocking one minute 35.4 seconds on qualifying tyres and going round 0.2 of a second slower in race trim.

But Lanzi's new team-mate looks set to be his biggest threat.

Troy Bayliss won the 2001 World Superbike title, but left for MotoGP after the 2002 season.

And after three years away, Bayliss is back on a Ducati and back to his best.

The Australian scorched round in one minute 34.3 seconds on qualifying tyres, a third of a second quicker than Neil Hodgson's lap record set in 2003 and over a second faster than Lanzi.

Perhaps more impressive was the time of one minutes 34.4 seconds he set with race tyres and Bayliss seems right at home back in Superbikes.

"The bike's obviously more close to the bike I rode in 2002 in Ducati Superbikes. It looks a lot different but now we've been working on the set-up a lot and basically now it feels like the bike I rode in 2002 just with a little bit more horsepower.": Troy Bayliss, Australia - Ducati Xerox.

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WSB should be good!

Loving every second of it



They should just give Baylistic the trophy now, save time.

wot do u think is running through bayliss mind knows hes gunna b up there in wsb and a waster in gp?
is that troy finished in gp for good or will he be bak? i hope sum 1 takes it to bayliss then we gunna c sum blood and thunder racing this term

I think Bayliss will end his career in WSB. If he dominates for two seasons or even one he'll be too old to go back to GPs for anonther shot. Sad to say but I think these are the last seasons for Troy Bayliss.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Ooost @ Feb 10 2006, 11:18 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I think Bayliss will end his career in WSB. If he dominates for two seasons or even one he'll be too old to go back to GPs for anonther shot. Sad to say but I think these are the last seasons for Troy Bayliss.
i must diagree with this statement. as long as he keeps his hunger to win, he could race for many more years. look at chili or mcwilliams. don't be so quick to chuck the old geez over.

I wanna se Troy outdo Foggy in the title count before he retires
I think he's awsome, but I don't want him to go back to GP. Being a fan, I wanna see him win races, and Baylss wins WSBK races, not GPs.

Don't worry the MGP door is closed for Bayliss, and I don't think he is interested in trying to open it.

WHat I want to know is why Ducati got rid of him after 2004. I think he didn't do too bad. He was their posterboy in WSBK. Now he is back with them and is ready to win but that is after one year on/off a Honda.

Why did they get rid of him? Why didn't they move him to WSBK for 2005? Anyone know?

I think Ducati wanted Troy back in WSBK for 2005, but Troy didn't, 2004 wasn't bad and I figure he thought he could do better. Everyone want to play in 1st division if they can. But in 2005 Troy figured, that MGP title was never gonna happen, so it's better to be champ in 2nd div than a backmarker in 1st div.

Yeah, I agree.
As long as Troy's winning a world championship, I'm happy.
I know he's old and all that but he's still tearing up the SBK tests. Hopefully he's got a few more ears (and titles) in him yet.

Has anyone noticed that older riders do better in SBK than motoGP? (Corser, Bayliss, Edwards, Foggy) I think it's because in GP youve got a light, fast, adrenalin pumpin bike, so it pays to be youing and fit. But in SBK the bikes are heavier and i'm not saying it takes more skill to ride one, because thats not true, but I think experience and maturity would help in riding a SBK with the finesse you need in order to go fast.