AUSSIE LEGEND, TROY BAYLISS, TO RACE WORLD SUPERBIKES THIS WEEKEND AT PHILLIP ISLAND
Australian motorcycling legend, 45 year old Troy Bayliss, will race at the Superbike World Championship season opener at Phillip Island this weekend – replacing injured rider Davide Giugliano who crashed in testing on Monday and injured his back.
Bayliss will race the Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale R under his famous number “21”.
The three times former world superbike champion and MotoGP winner, has flown to Melbourne from his home on the Gold Coast this afternoon, in preparation for Sunday’s two 22-lap races in the Swann sponsored round.
Bayliss, a long time competitor for Ducati who has remained an ambassador since his retirement at the end of 2008, will be on track from 11.45 am Friday for first practice.
The Australian legend will take on the world’s best superbike young guns – some of the 25 strong field are less than half his age including 19 year old French Kawasaki rider, Christophe Ponsson.
The father of three who was born in Taree, retired from racing on a high when he won his third world superbike championship. He has not competed in a world championship round since. The last time he raced at Phillip Island, on March 2, 2008 on the then new Ducati 1098, he won both races. Over his world supers career he won six races at the island, an achievement only bettered by his compatriot Troy Corser who scored seven victories.
Bayliss replaces the injured Davide Giugliano who crashed in testing on Monday afternoon at the Victorian circuit and suffered small fractures to his L1 and L2 vertebrae. He is unable to return to racing for a period of 90 days. Giugliano has proven the Ducati Panigale R bike to be very fast, quickest at Jerez in late January testing and also in the top pack at the island in Monday’s morning test session, prior to his afternoon crash.
Once the Ducati seat became available, Bayliss was keen to race especially on the occasion of a record 25 years of world superbike racing at Phillip Island.
“I want to start by saying that I really feel for Davide and that it’s a real shame for his season to be starting this way, “ said Troy.
“The desire to be able to return to the track and see my home crowd and the Ducatisti has always been strong, ever since I last raced and then also to race at Phillip Island, one of my favourite tracks as they celebrate 25 years of world superbikes.
“This gave me the idea to compete as a wildcard and work with the Ducati superbike technicians once again.
“I know it’s going to be a very difficult weekend, because it’s a while since I’ve ridden the superbike but I do know the track well and so hope to get back into it after a few laps.
“I’ll try to enjoy myself and will of course do my best to score a good result and put on a good show for the fans.”
Bayliss is one of Australia’s most prolific winners in the world of motorcycling racing having amassed 52 wins and 94 podiums in world superbike racing with Ducati, and one win and five podiums in MotoGP competition. He won his world superbike championships in 2001, 2006 and 2008 – all for Ducati.
Since his retirement from world championship racing in 2008, Bayliss has stayed both physically and mentally race fit. Last year he won the Aussie dirt track and supermoto titles and is looking at racing grand national AMA flat track events in America this year
Troy also has developed his own flat-track dirt event, the Baylisstic Scramble, which will be staged this weekend at Phillip Island on a new course built behind Lukey Heights. But now with his commitment to the Ducati world superbike squad on the Phillip Island bitumen, he’ll be a busy man and plans to juggle the dirt and the track.
The opening round of 2015 FIM Superbike World Championship, Swann round, will be held this Friday to Sunday, February 20-22 at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit. Action starts Friday at 9am with practice and first qualifying; final qualifying Saturday; and two 22 lap races in world superbike (noon and 2.40pm) and one 18 lap race in world supersport (1.10pm) on Sunday.
Troy Bayliss – record at Phillip Island
Six times winner – 2002 – race two; 2006 – race one; 2007 – race one and two; 2008 – race one and two (retirement year) . All for Ducati.
His retirement year – 2008
2008 saw Bayliss continue racing for the factory Ducati team, riding the new Ducati 1098. At the season opener at the Losail circuit in Qatar, Troy won the race one to give Ducati their first win with the new 1098 model. He also won both races at Philip Island on what was his final appearance at his home round. At Misano he took his record to nine podiums in ten starts at the track. Conversely, his victory in race 1 at Donington Park was his first win at the circuit. He came within three corners of clinching the title at Vallelunga, but crashed out at a low-speed corner to ensure that Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga retained a mathematical hope. He clinched the title in the next round by finishing 3rd at Magny Cours, and put the seal on it by winning race 2 – his 50th World Superbike victory. He took a double victory in his final World Superbike meeting at Portimão
World Superbike Testing Image Gallery A
World Superbike Testing Image Gallery B
WSBK Phillip Island Stats Smorgasbord – Round 1, Phillip Island – 2015 eni FIM Superbike World Championship
Sylvain Guintoli in the last three years climbed on the podium five times out of six races in Phillip Island, winning race one two years ago and race two last year. In both cases he narrowly missed out on a double win: in 2013 in race two he led for 21 laps before being passed by Eugene Laverty, while last year in race one he led again for 16 laps before being passed by Laverty and team-mate Marco Melandri, finishing third. Sylvain last year was the polesitter, one of his two front row starts in this track together with the third in grid in 2011.
Two podiums out of twelve Phillip Island races for Tom Sykes, third in 2012 in race two and last year, always in race two. Tom missed out on a points finish here only in 2010 in race two, due to a steering damp failure. Sykes was able to start from pole here in 2012: since then he always finished his Phillip Island races between third and seventh.
In his twelve Superbike races run here, Jonathan Rea managed to finish at least once in the positions between fourth and ninth and never retired, always scoring points. He misses a podium finish here though: his best result is a fourth, scored three times (2010 race one, 2011 race two and 2012 race two). Last year he was sixth and fifth. His best grid spot here dates back to his maiden Superbike race in Phillip Island: third in 2009. This is one of the few tracks in which Jonathan raced without climbing on the podium, the others are: Jerez, Monza, Moscow, Sepang and Valencia. During his career, Rea climbed on the podium in fourteen different tracks, winning in eight of them.
Four Superbike races here for Chaz Davies: his best result came in the first one, 2013 race one, when he was fourth from twelfth in grid (first BMW at the flag). Last year he was eighth and seventh. The result in race two could have been better, but a stone pierced his fairing, creating an electronical problem. Chaz last year posted the fastest lap in race one.
Leon Haslam won here from pole for Suzuki (with a 0.004 seconds margin over Michel Fabrizio) the first 2010 race, finishing second, beaten on the line by Carlos Checa, in the following one. At these two podiums he adds two third places, in 2009 in race two with Honda and in 2011 in race one with BMW.
Twelve points finishes for him in fourteen races: he was stopped only by a mechanical failure in 2004 race one and a falllast year in race one, when he was running despite back pain after a fall in practice. He was eventually sixth in race two.
Last year Davide Giugliano was pipped in both races, missing out on a podium spot and finishing fourth twice. In race one he was third for half of the race, but was then passed by Melandri, while in race two he was able to stay with the leading group, but then was passed by Sykes. Davide in his six Superbike races here didn’t score points only in 2013 in race one for a mechanical failure.
Toni Elias last year fell in race one, while in race two managed to finish ninth. The Spaniard in the 125cc class was third in 2001 behind Youichi Ui and Manuel Poggiali, while in the 250cc class was fifth both in 2002 and 2004.
At his first race as a works rider last year, Alex Lowes was immediately in the spotlight: qualified in fifth, he fell in race one while in the top-10 and in race two he climbed through the field after going wide at the first corner after the start. Last on the opening lap, he was able to climb up to ninth with a pace similar to the leading riders, but then made another mistake, finishing fourteenth.
Six Superbike races for David Salom in Phillip Island: the best results last year, when he was ninth and tenth, in both cases the first of the EVO class. He scored pole in the 2011 Supersport race, finishing fourth behind Luca Scassa, Broc Parkes and Sam Lowes: the four at the line were separated by less than three tenths of a second.
Three points finishes out fo four Superbike races in Phillip Island for Niccolò Canepa: tenth in race two in 2012 and tenth and eleventh last year, when he was second in the EVO class in both races behind David Salom.
Sylvain Barrier last year had to miss the Phillip Island races after breaking his hip in testing (18th of February).
The last Superbike races for Leon Camier in Phillip Island date back 2013, when he was twice ninth: those results were influenced by a bad start in race one, which put him back in thirteenth, and by the Davies-Baz accident in race two,which relegated him in seventeenth; Leon had qualified in seventh. Out of eight starts
here, Leon missed out on a points finish only in 2012 in race one, when a contact with Giugliano sent him off-track at the hairpin.
Ayrton Badovini managed to score only two points in five Superbike weekends in Phillip Island, with a fourteenth in race one in 2011, the only time he saw the chequered flag here. For him four mechanical failures and two withdrawalsdue to injuries in his foot.
At his Superbike debut last year, Imre Toth was sixteenth and nineteenth in Phillip Island.
in his Superbike and Supersport races in Phillip Island, Matteo Baiocco didn’t enjoy much luck so far: two retirements in Supersport in 2004 and 2005 and two more retirements in Superbike in 2009 and 2010. In the latter year he was able to pick up his best result here: seventeenth in race one.
In 2008 here, Santiago Barragan was 33rd in grid and 30th in the Supersport race.
in his eight MotoGP races in Phillip Island, Randy de Puniet scored two sixths as best result: in 2007 and 2011. Sixth is als his best result in the 250cc championship here, scored in 2002.
Leandro Mercado wasn’t able to enter the 2012 races here after injuring himself while training with his Supermotoduring the winter.
Only one experience for Roman Ramos in Phillip Island: last year in the Moto2 championship he was 31st in grid and 23rd in the race.
In his three Moto2 races run in Phillip Island, Nicolas Terol was able to score points once, when he was ninth two years ago. In 2010 he climbed on the podium here in the 125 cc race behind his countrymen Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro.
Four Moto2 races for Jordi Torres in Phillip Island: he managed to climb on the podium two years ago behind PolEspargaro and Thomas Luthi.
Michael van der Mark in the Supersport championship was fourth in grid and third in the race two years ago, when he had to surrender to Kenan Sofuoglu and Sam Lowes, while last year he was victim of a clash with the aforementioned Sofuoglu, which saw him drop to the back of the field before retiring.
Manufacturers
Aprilia in recent times has been the team to beat in Phillip Island: starting 2011, they won four of the eight races heldhere and, in the same timespan, when they didn’t win, they were second at the flag. This made Aprilia, together with Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki, the second most successful team here with five wins, trailing Ducati (22). The sameperformances were achieved in qualifying: since 2011, the best-placed Aprilia in grid was either on pole (2014) or second (2011-2013). In the last two race weekends in Australia they won three races out of four, missing out only last year in race one (Laverty, Suzuki).
BMW posted three podium finishes here: the last one was two years ago with Marco Melandri. Last year the best result for the German manufacturer was an eleventh by Allerton in race one.
Ducati dominates the statistics in Phillip Island, with 22 wins, 51 podiums and 11 poles, however in the last two yearsthey didn’t manage to finish on the podium, scoring two fourths last year with Davide Giugliano. The last Ducati podiumhere is Carlos Checa’s win in 2012 race two and the last pole came by the same Checa one year later.
Honda‘s best results here, four wins and 25 podium finishes, came a while ago: their last win came in 2007, with James Toseland in race two, while their last podium is a third by Leon Haslam in 2009 in race two. The best finish by a Honda rider in the last two years is a fifth by Rea last year in race two. Jonathan is also the last rider to have qualified a Hondaon the front row here, back in 2009 (3rd).
Kawasaki won five times here, but these wins are not related to the most recent years, when Tom Sykes was a regular championship contender: they came in the ’90s, when they won one race with Rob Phillis (1990) and four with AnthonyGobert (1994/2, 1995/2 and a double in 1996). In the last two years Kawasaki managed only two podium finishes in Phillip Island: the second and third last year in race two (Sykes-Baz). Tom Sykes started from pole for Kawasaki here in2012.
In Phillip Island last year Suzuki won their only race of the season: Eugene Laverty won in race one before the two Aprilias of Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli. To find other podium placements for the Japanese manufacturer in Australia, we have to go back to 2010, when Haslam started from pole, won race one and was second in race two. Sincethen, Suzuki weren’t able to start from the front row in this track.
25 years of World Superbike competition at Phillip Island to be celebrated with Friday night fireworks
Celebrating a record 25 years of staging the Superbike World Championship, Victoria’s Phillip Island will be inundated by the world’s leading production bike riders this weekend as they roll into town for Monday and Tuesday’s final pre-season test (February 16-17) and next week’s opening round of the 2015 series (Friday to Sunday,February 20-22).
To honour the milestone 25 years, gates at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit will be thrown wide open at 7:00pm Friday night for everyone to enjoy FREE festivities culminating in a fireworks display to light up Gardner Straight. Prior to that, fans will meet motorcycling legends from the past 25 years, including Peter Goddard and Robbie Phillis – the winners of the very first round in 1990; and also be treated to stunt bike displays and kids’ activities.
The 2015 world superbike field for the Phillip Island opener boasts a tantalising mix of proven race winners, experienced world superbike campaigners and exciting new talent including Australian wildcards, Melbourne’s Jed Metcher (Kawasaki) and Cessnock’s Matt Walters (Pedercini Kawasaki).
Racegoers at the Swann round will also be treated to the Baylisstic Scramble flat track event featuring Australia’s three-time world superbike champion Troy Bayliss and a host of Australian motorcycling talent including Chris Vermeulen and Jason Crump.
The three-day meet also features world supersport competition with Australians Glenn Scott, Sam Lambert and Aiden Wagner debuting in the class, and Australian national events in superbike, supersport, Moto3 and juniors. Tickets are available now at www.worldsbk.com.au.
A short history…
2015: No 25 for Phillip Island and world superbikes
The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit marks a major achievement next Sunday, February 22 when the opening round of the 2015 Superbike World Championship, Swann round is held at the sweeping, seaside layout : it will be the 25th time it has hosted the world’s leading production-based series.
World superbikes at the island carries a storied history which dates back to 1990, when Aussie duo Peter Goddard and Rob Phillis claimed the chequered flag in the first two races. In fact, local riders won nine of the first 12 world superbike races at Phillip Island, but now the tables have turned with the international brigade out in ‘front’ with 24 victories compared to the Aussie tally of 23.
That makes 47 races over 24 years. Dodgy maths? Not quite, as the second race in 2001 was cancelled after torrential rain lashed the Phillip Island circuit, making it more suitable for personal watercraft rather than high-powered four-stroke motorcycles.
Twenty-three rides have won WSBK races at Phillip Island, including seven Australians: the aforementioned Goddard and Phillis as well as Kevin Magee, Anthony Gobert, Troy Corser, Troy Bayliss and Garry McCoy. Between the three of them, Corser, Bayliss and Gobert have a staggering 18 wins to their credit.
The international list of winners is also mightily impressive, with Doug Polen, Carl Fogarty, Raymond Roche, John Kocinski, Aaron Slight, Colin Edwards, Ben Spies, Carlos Checa, Max Biaggi and current world champion Sylvain Guintoli among the stars.
Ducati has been the dominant brand throughout the journey, with the Italian manufacturer winning 22 races, well in front of Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki and Aprilia on five apiece.
The highlights reel at Phillip Island since 1990 is massive, and includes the ubiquitous Phillip Island drafting battles to the finish line; the absolute domination of Bayliss and Corser at their peak; Gobert disrobing and throwing his leathers into the crowd after his clean sweep in 1996; and one particular ‘hot’ moment: Belgian Stephane Mertens crashing on Gardner Straight in 1992, with his Ducati then cannoning into the pit wall and catching on fire. It then continued its journey, still cooking, a few hundred meters down the track. Mertens was okay apart from a broken collarbone.
Phillip Island can also lay claim to help ‘ending’ Fogarty’s career after the four-time world champion crashed after an altercation with a backmarker in 2000, injuring his shoulder. That brought the curtain down on a great career.
Australia’s association with world superbike stretches way back to when the series began in 1988, with Sydney’s Oran Park hosting the round. It was dominated by a young tearaway called Mick Doohan. Oran Park backed up again the following year before Phillip Island took over hosting duties in 1990.
TICKETS FOR WORLD SUPERBIKES ON SALE NOW
For Tickets and on circuit camping for Feb 20-22’s opening round of the FIM Superbike World Championship, Phillip Island Swann round go to www.worldsbk.com.au or call circuit hotline on 1300 728 007.
Children 15 and under free. Adults $110* for a three-day pass purchased in advance, $75* for a Sunday only pass. Buy in advance and save!
Friday night’s 25 year celebration party and fireworks is free for everyone, ticket holder or not – gates open 7pm, Friday night February 20 for entry.
*plus processing fee – offer valid to Wednesday February 18 at 2pm AEST. At gate, a three day general admission is $150 so buy in advance, and save $40
** children are classified as 15 and under, and must be accompanied by a full paying adult.
