Baylisstic ! I got familiar with his name when he replaced Carl Fogarty at Infostrada Ducati in 2000 after his big crash in Philip Island. At that time Bayliss was the reigning BSB champion, and the Ducati 996 didn't have many secrets for him since he had been riding it for GSE Racing in the UK. His first win came at Hockenheim after a fierce battle with Yanagawa, Haga and Edwards. It only took him a few races to climb on top of the podium. He managed to clinch another victory in front of his "home" crowd at Brands Hatch and got the whole superbike world amazed with his fight with haga in Assen. He did crash though, on many other occasions as well, but had established a name for himself and quickly built a huge fan base. 2001 looked very promising for Bayliss and Ducati and he delivered alright. Troy Bayliss - World Superbike Champion 2001!
To celebrate this achievement a special paint job - a tribute to Paul Smart's 1973 win at Imola - would be presented at the penultimate round at Imola.
He looked to repeat this feat in 2002 but a strong comeback from Colin Edwards on the Honda during the second half of the season led to the championship being decided at the final round. Imola was the place and two fantastic races that afternoon sent the title towards Edwards. It was already decided that Troy would make the move to MotoGP with Ducati in 2003.
The Desmosedici proved to be a very good bike which resulted in a 5th place for Troy at the opening round of the season. This great debut would be followed with 3 third places and ended with 6th in the standings of the 2003 MotoGP World Championship. Not bad for a rookie season in Grand Prix... However, 2004 proved very dispappointing and with one podium finish in the final round, Troy would leave Ducati for a satellite Honda in 2005. That didn't prove to be a successful combination either and for 2006, he returned to World Superbikes and his family at the Borgo Paginale factory. Result :12 wins and a second championship crown.
To celebrate his World Superbike title, he would also be drafted in to replace the injured Sete Gibernau at the Ducati MotoGP squad for the final round in Valencia. On his return, a front row start and victory left him conclude his business in Grand Prix racing. Unfortunatley, all the attention went to the drama that enclosed the title decision but Troy made his point. In 2007, again his title defence wouldn't be succesful. A season with highs and lows ended with 7 wins and 4th place in the standings. Already Troy had announced that 2008 would be his final year as a professional motorcycle racer and with a new bike, the 1098, a last shot at another title. Oh boy, did he do it or what ?!. 11 wins and a third World Superbike Title. The final round of the season at the brand new track in Portimao was the icing on the cake of a great career. Pole Position, double win and fastest lap. 39 years of age, a triple World Champion on three different types of Ducati ( check the helmet ) calls it a day...
He looked to repeat this feat in 2002 but a strong comeback from Colin Edwards on the Honda during the second half of the season led to the championship being decided at the final round. Imola was the place and two fantastic races that afternoon sent the title towards Edwards. It was already decided that Troy would make the move to MotoGP with Ducati in 2003.
The Desmosedici proved to be a very good bike which resulted in a 5th place for Troy at the opening round of the season. This great debut would be followed with 3 third places and ended with 6th in the standings of the 2003 MotoGP World Championship. Not bad for a rookie season in Grand Prix... However, 2004 proved very dispappointing and with one podium finish in the final round, Troy would leave Ducati for a satellite Honda in 2005. That didn't prove to be a successful combination either and for 2006, he returned to World Superbikes and his family at the Borgo Paginale factory. Result :12 wins and a second championship crown.
To celebrate his World Superbike title, he would also be drafted in to replace the injured Sete Gibernau at the Ducati MotoGP squad for the final round in Valencia. On his return, a front row start and victory left him conclude his business in Grand Prix racing. Unfortunatley, all the attention went to the drama that enclosed the title decision but Troy made his point. In 2007, again his title defence wouldn't be succesful. A season with highs and lows ended with 7 wins and 4th place in the standings. Already Troy had announced that 2008 would be his final year as a professional motorcycle racer and with a new bike, the 1098, a last shot at another title. Oh boy, did he do it or what ?!. 11 wins and a third World Superbike Title. The final round of the season at the brand new track in Portimao was the icing on the cake of a great career. Pole Position, double win and fastest lap. 39 years of age, a triple World Champion on three different types of Ducati ( check the helmet ) calls it a day...
What makes him so special for me ? I was in awe when I saw him ride that Ducati 996 and a big fan ever since. He really is a nice guy and he has proven that raw talent isn't attributed to just anybody. His records show that he is truly on of the greatest Superbike riders ever. 3 world championships, 152 races, 26 poles, 94 podiums, 52 wins and 35 fastest laps. Statistically, he is the second most successfull rider behind Fogarty. But well, statistics can be interpreted in many ways. Okay, he has less victories ( 7 ) and comes one title short but in percentages he is at the top of the standings. 62% podium rate and 34% winning rate compared to 49,5% and 27% for Fogarty. Anyway, I was attending the road cycling world championships in October 2002 in Zolder. At one stage, I looked to my right and saw a familiar face. Since I live nearby, it is quite common to run into familiar faces there, but this one I had never seen in real life. I walked up to him and simply addressed him by saying "Hello Mr Bayliss". I was surprised to see him there and he told me that one of his friends was working for the Australian national cycling team. It was two weeks after his title showdown with Colin Edwards and we talked for nearly 20 minutes. We talked about the title he didn't win, the test on the Desmo16 and about Australia since I was to embark on a trip Down Under two months later. It was just fantastic to meet him in person and he was very friendly. His positive attitude and approach just made me respect him even more! To me he is probably the greatest of all my heroes and he really is Baylisstic !
One of his trademarks...sparks flying from his boots...
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