MotoGP Jerez Day 2: Rossi Tops Timesheet

Day two of the MotoGP test at Jerez was more successful than day one, with all teams completing dozens of laps.
Valentino Rossi topped the timesheets with a 1:40.688, which is stunningly fast, just hundredths off the circuit's race lap record. Dani Pedrosa was a tenth behind Rossi, with Colin Edwards 4 tenths further back in 3rd. John Hopkins on the Suzuki was just a fraction behind Edwards, and Vermeulen was 4 tenths behind that.
This meant that Suzuki were the fastest Bridgestone runners, ahead of the Ducatis of Stoner then Capirossi, then Marco Melandri on his Bridgestone-clad Honda.
It seems that losing the title has just made Rossi more determined, but Pedrosa is very fast on the new Honda 800. Why was Pedrosa so much faster than the other Hondas? Well, the theories on the net range from Kropotkin thinking that Pedrosa is being given new HRC parts before everybody else, to Matthew Birt being just plain baffled.
I think that it's pretty reasonable to assume Pedrosa would get new parts before everybody else, and also that the new 800cc Honda was quite simply built to his exact measurements and preferences. After building him championship winning 250cc bikes, Honda know what the little guy is looking for. Couple that with an upgraded engine and his stunning 250cc talent, and fast laps are sure to follow.
Britain's Chaz Davies didn't get to ride the Ilmor yesterday. He should get his chance today. Andrew Pitt chucked his Ilmor X3 down the road yesterday, and the team had all kinds of electrical issues. Their 2007 lineup is still a mystery.
So far, Rossi is still Rossi, Pedrosa is looking great, the Suzuki still looks like a serious contender for wins. Today is the last day of MotoGP running before the winter testing ban. Let's see if they can throw up a bit more intrigue to keep us going.

MotoGP Jerez Test: Rain Ruins Running

Day one of the big test at Jerez didn't see much running. The morning was too cold and the afternoon was wet, meaning that most riders didn't venture out of their garages for very long. There have been lap times posted, with Rossi fastest from Hopkins, but we can't really draw any conclusions.
At least there's a good blog report from Matthew Birt, who was the only international journalist there.
It turns out that young British rider Chaz Davies will be testing for Ilmor. This is a bit of a surprise. He had a few fairly successful outings in the 250cc class on privateer bikes, but had announced on the British Eurosport TV channel that he was leaving 250's as he wasn't having enough success, and being a tall lad, was fed up with struggling to physically fit on the bike. He then agreed a move to an American team competing in an AMA series.
In some ways, hiring Chaz would be a shrewd move due to his skill on a 250, and though the Ilmor is a small machine, I'm sure he would find a way to wrap his lanky frame around it for a chance to impress in MotoGP.
Ilmor had announced that they would confirm their riders after the Jerez test, and rumours were that it would be Northern Irish veteran Jeremy McWilliams partnering Aussie Andrew Pitt, with Garry McCoy being forced to step down even though he is clearly popular with the team and management. The fact that young Chaz will be testing for them is a real joker in the pack. It is well known that the BBC lean heavily on Dorna to ensure there is a British rider to cheer on, which has helped riders such as Hodgson, Byrne and certainly Ellison.
Are the BBC demanding a youngster? McWilliams is 42, but still youthful and a real character. Will he be gazumped by young Davies? Alternatively, we could be looking at an all-British team. There are already two very quick young Aussies in the series. Vermeulen and Stoner both took hugely impressive pole positions in 2006. With the UK's population being something like 3 times that of Australia, Dorna might feel that they can demand two Brits. Jezza and Chaz are both quick riders, so this wouldn't be a repeat of the Ellison debacle.
We should find out in a couple of days. Let's hope there is good weather to let the 4 Ilmor riders show us what they've got.

MotoGP: More Testing On The Way

The MotoGP test at Jerez starts on November the 28th, and it should give us a better idea of where the teams stand relative to each other.
At Valencia, Suzuki were the main surprise, but that could be put down to the twisty track suiting the Suzy's sweet chassis. The Sepang test was an even bigger Suzuki surprise, as they were the fastest bike, not only in terms of lap time but also of top speed. However, there were a few big names missing. Rossi was rallying, Melandri and Pedrosa were both recovering from surgery, Ducati stayed at home to work on their bikes. HRC brought world champion Nicky Hayden, proudly bearing the number 1 plate. Not only did he struggle to adapt to the 800cc riding style, but to everyone's amazement, the new Honda V4 was seriously down on power.
The last time Honda made an engine that lacked power was probably when they were running a crazy oval-pistoned 500cc 4-stroke (that they probably found in a flying saucer) against the 2-strokes in the early 80's. The Japanese engineers will have been working round the clock to catch up.
Nicky Hayden will miss the Jerez test as he takes his turn on the operating table, but we will see 2006 race winning stars Rossi, Pedrosa, Melandri and Capirossi. It will be crunch time for Suzuki's ambitions, as they must keep up their early pace of development. This time, they will be up against all the big boys on a track that isn't ridiculously twisty (Valencia) or a major Bridgestone hunting ground (Sepang). The 800cc Ducati is a missile in a straight line, but can it beat the revitalized Suzuki around the full lap? Honda will be as dangerous as a wounded bear, but how quickly can they turn their fortunes around? We'll know in a couple of days.

MotoGP: Hayden Needs Shoulder Surgery

Looks like Li'l Nicky was hurt more than he let on in that crash (you know the one I mean, the one where he was a trifle angry in the gravel trap as he walked away), as he's going for surgery on his shoulder.
Hayden managed to hide his injury very well. Nobody suspected that he had a problem when he was on the start line at Valencia to fight it out for the championship. However, at the recent Sepang test he showed a journalist that he has a serious mobility problem in his right arm. (Matthew Birt's official MCN blog, on the 2nd page).
This can only add to the Kentucky Kid's achievement at Valencia. Not only did he put in a solid ride when Rossi hopped off, but he was riding injured too, and actually leant on Valentino with his damaged right shoulder as they came off the start line.
I think that Hayden proved that he deserved to win the championship with that performance in the last race. Alright, he wasn't the out and out fastest rider of the year, but there were 17 races, with 25 points available in each, and everybody knew the rules from day one. Grab the most points and you get the number 1 plate (unless you prefer 46 of course).
The determination that Hayden showed was worthy of any champion, especially with this secret injury. The fact that he didn't play up the injury, as some would have, means that the new World Champion deserves full respect.

MotoGP - Rossi's Rally

Valentino Rossi's 2nd World Rally event was more impressive than the 1st. His previous outing in Wales had seen him slide off the road on day 1. Last weekend in New Zealand he took it very easy for the first day, getting used to the fast gravel roads, before speeding up and setting a few top-10 stage times. His 11th place finish proved that he has potential.
Not used to being an amateur mechanic, Rossi made changing his own tyres look like hard work. (Alex at the Pure Motorcycle Passion blog has posted some of the videos of Rossi at Rally NZ.) It would be interesting to see Rossi perform some of the real "bush mechanic" tasks I've seen rally drivers do, such as fixing a bent suspension strut by taking it off the car and repeatedly dropping a large rock on it, or trying to bung up a damaged sump by stuffing a t-shirt in the hole.
Still, the world of the World Rally Championship seems to suit Vale. Competing against the clock, like one big qualifying lap, is very different to sitting in a line of F1 cars waiting for the pit-stops so you can overtake. Rossi just doesn't strike me as an F1 type of person, with the stifling publicity and the boring races. Rallying is more friendly, and a little bit crazy. Most people seem to think that Valentino will move to rallying after he stops racing motorcycles, as his father did.
Rossi drew the largest cheers from the Kiwi crowds, proving that there would be massive sponsor interest in having him in the WRC. (Having said that, the WRC has a habit of shooting itself in the foot in this respect, with rule changes effectively forcing megastar Colin McRae to retire early as he couldn't find a top drive.)
It would be fantastic to still see Valentino Rossi in a top race series when he leaves MotoGP. One where drivers are expected to be friendly and eccentric, and where the constantly-sideways cars are exciting to watch. Here's hoping we see the number 46 appearing on our screens for many more years.

MotoGP Sepang Test - Suzuki Still Fast

Boy, these 800cc MotoGP machines are quick.
The MotoGP test at Sepang, Malaysia is over, and the times from Day 3 have been posted on Crash.net. Suzuki topped the time sheets, showing that their impressive pace from Valencia wasn't a one-off. John Hopkins put in the fastest time with a 2:01.64 on experimental race tyres. (Apparently he did a 5-lap stint on these tyres, so they were definitely not qualifiers.) Incredibly, this is more than 9 tenths of a second faster than he managed in the Sepang race a few months ago, and just 4 tenths slower than the fastest race lap set by Capirossi.
Day 1 of the test had been a washout, with one corner being literally several feet underwater, but Colin Edwards set the fastest time in the limited running. Day 2 belonged to the Suzukis, as did day 3.
Journalist Matthew Birt, who was at the test, has blogged that the Suzukis were fastest through the speed traps on day 2, at 187.65mph (302km/h). It seems that Suzuki have produced an 800cc engine which is greatly more impressive than their 990. Birt also reports that the 800s are much kinder to their tyres. This could make an interesting twist to the Michelin - Bridgestone tyre war next season.
Ducati were not at the test, and other top riders missing included Melandri and Pedrosa, who are both recovering from surgery, and Valentino Rossi, who is busy driving in Rally New Zealand.
However, Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden were both testing their factory machines (on Michelin tyres), and both were comfortably outpaced by the Suzuki boys. How much of this is down to tyres and how much to bikes is an open question, but the straight line speeds don't really lie. It will be interesting to see the Suzuki go up against the new Ducati on a fast track. Yamaha and Honda will of course do a massive amount of work on the new 800cc bikes, but Suzuki have really hit the ground running for next season. Let's hope they can keep it up, so that we can have 4 different race-winning manufacturers next year.

WSBK Valencia Test - Max on Top

Did I say Max Biaggi was quick on a superbike? Make that extremely quick.
The times for day 2 of the World Superbike test at Valencia have been posted. Max was fastest with a 1:33.9 lap. Being a Pirelli tyre test, we know what kind of tyres each rider was using. Max set this lap on a race tyre. 6 riders (not including Biaggi) used qualifying tyres, the fastest being Lorenzo Lanzi with a 1:33.9, the same as Biaggi on race tyres.
There wasn't much difference in performance between race tyres and qualifiers. This seems to be down to the high performance of the race tyres that Pirelli are testing, as 1:33.9 is record pace for the World Superbikes around the twisty Valencia track.
I know that it's a bit of a coincidence that the new star name of WSBK was fastest in the test, but of course Max is a 4-times world champion in 250GP, and a championship contender in 500GP and MotoGP. Why would he be slow? OK, he has to adapt to the heavier, road based superbike. However, Max has ridden a lot of different bikes and been fast on all of them. Even if there was some trickery to give him the fastest time, the Roman Emperor is still right up there with the other top WSBK riders.

WSBK Valencia Test Day 1

The unofficial test times for day 1 of the WSBK test at Valencia have been posted online.
Ten Kate Honda's James Toseland topped the timesheets with a 1:34.7 lap, just ahead of the two Ducatis of Troy Bayliss on 1:34.8 and Lorenzo Lanzi on 1:34.9. The two Suzukis were next, with Yukio Kagayama posting a 1:35.1 and Max Biaggi a 1:35.2. The first Kawasaki was Regis Laconi with a 1:35.4, followed by the two Yamahas of Troy Corser on 1:35.6 and Noriyuki Haga on 1:35.8.
What does this tell us? First of all, Max Biaggi is quick on a superbike. That shouldn't really come as a surprise since he was quick on 250GP, 500GP and 990cc MotoGP machines, but there was still some doubt in everyone's mind as to whether Max could adapt to the road-based World Superbikes. It looks good for next year. Max is well known for his forceful overtaking and close racing, so having him race alongside other hard racers like Toseland and Haga should be spectacular.
Secondly, Lorenzo Lanzi seems to have speeded up after signing another Ducati contract. He was hugely fast when he first rode a factory Ducati, but last year was very disappointing. Maybe this test will boost his confidence and bring him back to race-winning form.
What else? Toseland is very quick. He really seems to have settled in to the Ten Kate team and the 4-cylinder Honda after winning the title on a Ducati twin. He is highly motivated, having turned down the chance of MotoGP to try and win the title for Honda and impress them enough to give him a bike in MotoGP.
The Yamaha is a new bike, so we don't know how much to make of Corser and Haga's times. The team will still be working out how to set up the new machine. Corser will still be very pleased to have beaten his new team-mate.

The Start of a Testing Week

Both WSBK and MotoGP will be testing this week.
The top World Superbike teams will have a 2-day test at Valencia, starting on the 14th. Probably the most interesting feature will be the appearance of Max Biaggi. We'll finally see whether the Roman Emperor can adapt his smooth 250cc riding style to put in fast laps on the big Superbikes.
MotoGP will have a 3-day test at Sepang starting on the 15th. It will be interesting to see the new 800cc bikes on the long straights of the Sepang circuit. Back at Valencia, the 800's were close to the pace of the old 990's, but that was on a twisty track. Will they lose out on a fast circuit like Sepang? And will Suzuki's 800cc machine be able to keep up its impressive pace? If so, Suzuki could be back in the big time. We'll find out in a couple of days.

British Superbike Silly Season Musings

Rumour has it that Australian Andrew Pitt might be moving to the BSB championship if he doesn't get the Ilmor MotoGP ride. Pitt has been testing the Ilmor 800cc machine alongside Northern Irish veteran Jeremy McWilliams.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the MotoGP race organizers Dorna might slip Ilmor a few quid to hire McWilliams, as Australia will already have Vermeulen, Stoner and McCoy, while the UK won't have another rider in MotoGP. It's well known that Dorna persuaded teams to run the likes of Shakey Byrne and James Ellison.
Old riders don't get slow, they get scared. McWilliams is 41 and he sure isn't scared.
Andrew Pitt would be an interesting addition to British Superbikes, as he has been impressive on the Yamaha World Superbike in 2006. It might be a step down in terms of prestige, but the racing in BSB is as good as anywhere. Many people regard BSB as the best national superbike series in the world, and with past names like Toseland, Hodgson and Bayliss, it certainly has a strong claim.
2006 title contenders Leon Haslam, Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) and champion Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) will all be staying in BSB. The Northern Irish teenager Johnny Rea will partner Kiyo on a Honda and look to improve on his 4th place in this year's championship. Promising young Englishman Tommy Hill (Yamaha) will also stay with his team, and racing on Pirelli tyres will let him appear as a wildcard in WSBK. (As WSBK uses a Pirelli control tyre, BSB teams who use tyres like Michelin or Dunlop are prevented from using Pirellis in WSBK by their tyre contracts.)
Fans' favourite and WSBK race winner Chris Walker is also back in BSB with Suzuki. He regards the BSB title as unfinished business, and will be one to watch, as always.
2006 was an excellent year for British Superbikes. 2007 looks even better.

MotoGP: Sete Gibernau Announces Retirement

Catalan star Sete Gibernau has announced that he is retiring from World Championship motorcycle racing.
He had struggled with injuries and terrible luck this year, with his collarbone being badly damaged in his spectacular crash at the Catalan GP, and never really healing. It was damaged again when he was taken out by Casey Stoner in Portugal. Although some people said he was past his best, remember that he would have been 1st or 2nd at the first race of the season, if it wasn't for a mechanical failure, and he was running well in front of his team-mate Capirossi when he hit Stoner's carelessly discarded bike at Estoril.
It must be hard for Sete to see Nicky Hayden win the championship with just 2 wins. Although the American won fair and square, he needed a year of atrocious luck for Valentino Rossi. Sete, on the other hand, genuinely pushed Rossi all the way in 2003 and 2004, winning 4 races in each of those years and scoring many podiums. Without the phenomenon that is Valentino Rossi, Sete would have been a double world champion.
The records show that Gibernau was the 2nd best rider of the 990cc era with 8 wins (he also achieved one victory on a 500GP machine). However, The Doctor won an incredible 45 races in the 990cc MotoGP years. There is no disgrace in losing to the best of all time, especially when you have such legendary battles and force him to produce his very best.
Superstitious people might argue that Rossi's notorious "gypsy curse" is what really ended Sete's career. After Qatar in 2004, when Rossi was penalized for his team doing scooter burnouts on his grid spot to increase the track's grip, The Doctor blamed his opponent, and proclaimed that Gibernau would never win another race. [Does Rossi have magical powers in addition to his racing skills? I wouldn't rule it out!]
The Catalan can hold his head high. His record of 9 victories, 13 pole positions and 8 fastest laps is unmatched by anybody else in the Rossi era, apart from Rossi himself.
Farewell, Sete.

MotoGP: Marco Melandri Update

Marco Melandri has had his arm operation. The Italian will now take 2 weeks off, missing the Sepang test but riding at the Jerez test at the end of November. He won't have his leg injury operated on, because other treatments might yet work.
It's unlike Marco to take an entire fortnight off, I wonder if his doctor will have to chain him to a radiator to stop him jumping on a motorcycle...
Of course, the Gresini team will not have the new 800cc Honda MotoGP bike until the start of next year, so missing this test will not be a particular disadvantage.

MotoGP: Melandri to Undergo Surgery

Marco Melandri is to have an operation on his arm in the next few days. He may also need an operation on his foot, which was injured when Valentino Rossi crashed into him at the end of last year.
It seems that Marco is human after all! His incredible powers of recovery have seen him ride injured several times this season. He amazed everyone when he quickly returned to racing after being knocked unconscious, and looking like he was badly hurt, in "That Crash". (At least his ambulance didn't crash on the way out of the circuit, like Sete's did.)
Now it turns out that he has been having trouble with his arm since the Laguna Seca round, and that his Rossi-related foot injury has prevented him from training properly for the entire 2006 season.
In typical "Macho" Melandri fashion, Marco will be riding at the test in Sepang, just days after his arm operation. Quite a character.

MotoGP 2007 Line-up

Since there's not going to be much news for a while, and Silly Season is very nearly over, here's what the 2007 MotoGP grid will look like. The Ilmor-Suter team is the only one yet to confirm its riders for next year. The line-ups are as follows:

HRC Honda (Michelin tyres)
Nicky Hayden (USA)
Dani Pedrosa (SPA)

Yamaha (Michelin)
Valentino Rossi (ITA)
Colin Edwards (USA)

Ducati (Bridgestone)
Loris Capirossi (ITA)
Casey Stoner (AUS)

Kawasaki (Bridgestone)
Olivier Jacque (FRA)
Randy de Puniet (FRA)

Suzuki (Bridgestone)
John Hopkins (USA)
Chris Vermeulen (AUS)

Gresini Honda (Bridgestone)
Marco Melandri (ITA)
Toni Elias (SPA)

LCR Honda (Michelin)
Carlos Checa (SPA)

JiR Honda (Bridgestone)
Shinya Nakano (JPN)

d'Antin Ducati (Bridgestone)
Alex Barros (BRA)
Alex Hofmann (GER)

Tech 3 Yamaha (Dunlop)
Makoto Tamada (JPN)
Sylvain Guintoli (FRA)

Team KR Honda (Michelin)
[Team KR chassis, Honda engine]
Kenny Roberts Jr (USA)

Ilmor Suter (Michelin)
To Be Announced (Garry McCoy?)
To Be Announced (Jeremy McWilliams / Andrew Pitt?)

MotoGP Test- Lucky Few Try Out Race Bikes

The recent MotoGP test at Valencia saw a few ex-racers and non-racers allowed out on the big bikes.
Former Suzuki stars Randy Mamola and Kevin Schwantz got to ride the 2006 990cc Rizla Suzuki machines, with both of them on track at the same time. Suzuki report that the American duo were within 3 seconds of the race pace at the Valencia GP a few days earlier. Not too shabby!
Amateurs who got the chance to teeter around on MotoGP bikes included the boss of Yamaha Racing (Lin Jarvis), Little Loris Capirossi's father, and Valentino Rossi's ever-present identically-dressed friend Uccio. Yamaha obviously weren't too worried about somebody trashing the bike, since it is now obsolete. A strange way to describe one of the most advanced racing bikes ever built, but that's progress for you.
The next test is at Sepang in Malaysia in a couple of weeks.

MotoGP Valencia Test Day 2

The unofficial times have been posted for the second and final day of the MotoGP test at Valencia. Most teams were continuing work on their new 800s, but Alex Barros rode a 990cc d'Antin Ducati on Bridgestone tyres and set times around that would have been a respectable race pace in the GP, much faster than the d'Antin boys set on Dunlops.
Dani Pedrosa topped the timesheets with a 1:32.66 lap. Chris Vermeulen continued Suzuki's hugely impressive showing with a 1:32.69, incredibly close to the HRC bike of Pedrosa.
Casey Stoner fractionally outpaced his new teammate Loris Capirossi, with the Aussie posting a 1:32.94 to the Italian's 1:33.01. Hopefully the legendary grip of the front Bridgestone tyres will help Stoner stay on the bike a bit more! The Ducatis were split by John Hopkins' Suzuki on a 1:32.95.
Nicky Hayden was 4 tenths slower than his teammate's best lap, but his 1:33.03 is very close to the general pace. The new champion will probably have to adjust his riding style more than Pedrosa for the new machines. Nicky hasn't raced 250GPs, unlike most of the others, but he seems to be getting the hang of the new "rides like a 250" 800cc MotoGP bikes very quickly.
Valentino Rossi's 1:33.78 is slower than his time yesterday, but Yamaha were trying out various settings so we can't read much into that.
The Ilmor is still off the pace, but Aussie Andrew Pitt closed to within half a second of Jeremy McWilliams' time, posting a 1:36.4 to the Ulsterman's 1:35.9. Rumour has it that Pitt is being seriously considered for the 2007 Ilmor MotoGP ride.

MotoGP: New 800cc Machines Debut

Some of the new 800cc 2007-spec MotoGP machines have started testing at Valencia. There were also 990cc bikes at the test yesterday, so we can compare lap times. Crash.net has a list of lap times (which are unofficial), and they make interesting reading.
The 990cc Honda of Valentino Rossi was fastest with a 1 minute 32.70 second lap. Toni Elias and Marco Melandri were also in the 1:32's as they tested out their old bikes on Bridgestone tyres and were quickly on the pace.
However, it is the pace of the new 800cc bikes that is the real eye-opener.
Rossi, Loris Capirossi, John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen all put in laps within 8 hundredths of a second of each other, with Rossi doing a 1:33.10, Capirossi a 1:33.11, Hopper a 1:33.14, and Vermeulen a 1:33.18. Dani Pedrosa on his 800cc Honda was just a few hundredths further back, with a 1:33.21, and Casey Stoner's new 800cc Ducati on 1:33.41.
I am especially impressed by the pace of the two Suzuki bikes, which are 2006 chassis with next year's 800cc engine bolted in.
I think most of us were expecting Honda to be much faster than everybody, since it was them who pushed for the 800cc engines, which some people claimed was designed to benefit HRC's golden boy Dani Pedrosa.
The fact that the Yamaha (admittedly with Rossi riding), Ducati, Suzuki and Honda bikes were all within a tenth of a second of each other is surprising. The fact that these bikes were on the race pace of the Valencia GP is amazing. I think we were tricked by the slowish pace of the new Ilmor, which is after all an absolutely brand new bike built from scratch. Ilmor were also at the test, with Jeremy McWilliams lapping at 1.35.80 (faster than Garry McCoy's best lap in the GP) and Andrew Pitt at 1:36.60.
The pace of these 800cc bikes, which lose out on top speed and acceleration but have much higher corner speed than the 990cc machines, is hugely impressive. They will be slower on tracks that rely on power rather than corner speed. The Valencia track is very tight and twisty. It still bodes well for next year. If Yamaha, Ducati, Suzuki and Honda are all within a tenth of each other next year, the 2007 championship will be incredible.

Troy Bayliss the Hero

Now that the dust is starting to settle on the MotoGP world championship, it's time to give full credit to the Valencia race winner- Troy "Baylisstic" Bayliss.
The first time I became aware of Bayliss was when he joined the British Superbike Championship in 1998 with GSE Ducati. In 1999 he became BSB champion, gaining many fans with his down-to-earth Aussie personality. He acted like racing bikes was just a way to pay the rent. His riding style was also a big talking point. Some of his fellow racers said that Troy was taking lines that they'd never seen before, and using bits of tarmac that no bike had ever ridden across.
If the ultra-smooth riding style of somebody like Max Biaggi is equivalent to caressing the bike and whispering sweet nothings into its ear, then the Bayliss style is more like dragging the bike into the back yard and spending half an hour beating it with a big stick.
The year 2000 saw Troy dispatched to the AMA Superbike series, but only for a few races. Ducati's WSBK superstar Carl "Foggy" Fogarty had been hurt in a collision with a backmarker. Bayliss was drafted in as a temporary replacement, but when surgeons told Foggy that he would never fully recover from his shoulder injuries, Bayliss became the new Ducati WSBK star.
2001 brought Troy Bayliss his first WSBK title. The Australian who was only supposed to be in the series for a couple of races turned out to be a revelation, somebody who was born to race Ducati superbikes at the highest level, and win.
The 2002 WSBK championship is best known for one of the greatest last laps of any race, in any race series. Bayliss fought it out with Colin Edwards around Imola in the final lap of the 2002 championship, bashing fairings and overtaking each other all the way round. The Texan won the title narrowly from Bayliss.
2003 was the start of Ducati's MotoGP challenge. Bayliss was signed alongside the Italian Loris Capirossi to ride the evil new 990cc 4-stroke Desmosedici, which had monstrous amounts of power. Unfortunately, monstrous also describes the engine's power delivery characteristics, and the bike's chassis. Neil Hodgson, another WSBK champion on a Ducati, who rode the Desmosedici for the D'Antin team in MotoGP, once spoke of how hard the bike is to ride. He compared the physical effort of finishing a race on the Desmosedici to riding the WSBK machine for 24 hours non-stop.
Bayliss achieved a few good results, but just couldn't ride the hard-edged MotoGP bikes in the same way as he had ridden the relatively squishy WSBK machines.
A year on a Honda in 2005 was even worse, with the Honda being even worse suited to Troy's riding style.
Back to WSBK for 2006, and back to the factory Ducati squad. Bayliss hadn't ridden the Ducati 999, but he immediately got to grips with it and started winning races. Troy dominated the series, and took his 2nd WSBK Championship. That wasn't the end of his year, though. Ducati MotoGP rider Sete Gibernau could not ride at Valencia, after being injured by his own replacement, Casey Stoner. Troy Bayliss was asked to step in, and agreed, on the condition that he could bring some of his WSBK pit crew with him.
Bayliss amazed everybody by qualifying in 2nd on the grid, and leading the race from lights to flag. He beat Capirossi hands down. When anybody got close, he just put in a couple of fast laps to pull away. It is unheard of for a WSBK rider to come to a race on an unfamiliar bike, on tyres he has never used, and totally dominate. An incredible achievement. As Troy put it, this was his "first and last" MotoGP win. He will return to WSBK to defend his title in 2007, and who would bet against him?
There's a great post about Troy on the blog of British MotoGP journalist Matthew "Birty" Birt. This is an excellent blog that I stumbled across recently, and has a lot of rumour and behind the scenes gossip that only a journalist would be able to reveal.