Troy Corser – WorldSBK 2000 – Aprilia RSV Mille
Flashback Friday
Troy Corser was certainly an early adopter of digital media kits and after starting MCNews.com.au in 1999, this was one of the first I ever received.
The first USB keys had not even reached production at the turn of the century thus the PR kit was handed to me by on CD-ROM, as computer readable compact discs were then known.
In his personal profile his primary dislikes were listed as ‘Bigheads’, and ‘Bad Journalists’…
Troy already had the first of his two World Superbike Championship Titles behind him in 1996 (Ducati 916), after joining the series the year before, where he had finished second in his debut WorldSBK year, 1995.
Corser also had an Australian Superbike Championship (1993 – Honda RC30), and an American Superbike Championship (1994 – Ducati 888), under his belt before a troubled stint on a 500cc Grand Prix Yamaha in 1997.
1998 had seen him go close to winning the WorldSBK Title with Ducati. In 1999 again he finished third with Ducati, the title that year going to Carl Fogarty, the last of the Briton’s four Superbike World Championship victories.
For season 2000 Troy took on a new challenge by joining the fledgling Aprilia WorldSBK effort, finishing an impressive third place on the new Italian twin after scoring five victories along the way.
The following season the results were not quite as good and Corser then joined another fledgling new project, Foggy Petronas. That proved a tough couple of years but after joining Suzuki for season 2005 Corser was back to his winning ways, lifting the WSBK Title in his maiden season on the GSX-R1000. Corser actually won six of the opening seven races of the 2005 season,
Corser went to Yamaha for seasons 2007 and 2008, including finishing second in the championship to countryman Troy Bayliss, who that year celebrated his third World Superbike Championship victory.
2009 saw Corser join BMW where he remained for three years before hanging up his leathers.
We were lucky enough to recently see Corser back on track at Phillip Island in the 2018 Island Classic, he then stayed around for the recent ASBK Tests. Both these fellas certainly had us on the edge of our seats watching their escapades around the racetracks of the world while we watched them at home on television through the peak of their careers, and it is great to see them both looking fit, healthy and still enjoying motorcycles. Troy Corser is now 46 and Bayliss 48. While Bayliss scored one more WorldSBK Championship victory than Corser, in 2018 Bayliss is back racing in ASBK, hoping to add an Australian Superbike Championship to his scorecard. Corser won his Australian Superbike Championship 25 years ago, on an RC30 in 1993.
