Photo: Troy Bayliss
Believe it or not, Ducati’s Superbike legend Troy Bayliss will be back in racing action in the debut round of the 2015 World Superbike championship. Funny thing, he will be competing on his home circuit, as the season debuts at Phillip Island in Australia, this very weekend.
However, Bayliss is not back for good. He will be substituting for Davide Giugliano, who was injured in a crash past Monday. Unfortunately for both Giugliano and Ducati, the doctors detected two fractured lumbar vertebrae, and ruled that the rider must stay out of racing action for three months. This means that Davide Giugliano will be missing no less than four WSBK rounds: Australia, Thailand, Spain and the Netherlands, and if his recovery goes well, we might get to see him back on the bike at Imola on May 10.
So Ducati thought of having old-timer Troy Bayliss in the saddle of the 1199 Panigale R and taking a new shot at WSBK glory. Retired from the World Superbike in 2008, Bayliss has never severed his strong liaisons with the motorcycle world. Besides being one of the instructors of the Ducati Riding Experience (DRE) training program, he has also kept on riding in off-road competitions and has in fact added multiple off-road and enduro titles to his name in the post-WSBK time.
With the 1199 Panigale being his “work place” and considering his incredible 2006 MotoGP win at Valencia, it’s easy to understand why Ducati chose him. If you don’t remember Bayliss’ unbelievable race at Valencia in 2006, here’s a short recap for you. He was asked to substitute another injured Ducati rider, Sete Gibernau. Even if Bayliss had no experience with the Bridgestone tires he has a glorious weekend, starting from second on the grid, quickly jumping in front of the pack and never letting go until the amazing moment when he saw the checkered flag.
Will he be able to repeat such an incredible feat this weekend? We’ll find out shortly. However, Pirro will be at the helm of Giugliano’s Panigale after the Australian round. Anyway, it would be simply amazing to see Bayliss adding even more WSBK points to his career… even after it reached an end. Or has it? He already has 52 wins and 94 podiums in 152 races, but this only means there's room for more.
Michele Pirro testing Ducati MotoGP bikes at Sepang is Bayliss’ new chance for glory
After Ducati learned about the doctors’ verdict, the first option as a replacement rider was Michele Pirro, the official MotoGP test rider. However, Pirro is quite busy with the second IRTA test at Sepang and the 7,000 km (4,350 miles) distance between the Malaysian circuit and the Australian one makes it impossible for him to attend both events.So Ducati thought of having old-timer Troy Bayliss in the saddle of the 1199 Panigale R and taking a new shot at WSBK glory. Retired from the World Superbike in 2008, Bayliss has never severed his strong liaisons with the motorcycle world. Besides being one of the instructors of the Ducati Riding Experience (DRE) training program, he has also kept on riding in off-road competitions and has in fact added multiple off-road and enduro titles to his name in the post-WSBK time.
With the 1199 Panigale being his “work place” and considering his incredible 2006 MotoGP win at Valencia, it’s easy to understand why Ducati chose him. If you don’t remember Bayliss’ unbelievable race at Valencia in 2006, here’s a short recap for you. He was asked to substitute another injured Ducati rider, Sete Gibernau. Even if Bayliss had no experience with the Bridgestone tires he has a glorious weekend, starting from second on the grid, quickly jumping in front of the pack and never letting go until the amazing moment when he saw the checkered flag.
Will he be able to repeat such an incredible feat this weekend? We’ll find out shortly. However, Pirro will be at the helm of Giugliano’s Panigale after the Australian round. Anyway, it would be simply amazing to see Bayliss adding even more WSBK points to his career… even after it reached an end. Or has it? He already has 52 wins and 94 podiums in 152 races, but this only means there's room for more.
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