WSBK: Bayliss Hangs On To Lucky Number

The entry list for the 2007 World Superbike season seems to have revealed that Troy Bayliss will "do a Rossi" and keep his number 21 plate in this year's championship, instead of taking the number 1 plate he has the right to use as World Champion. This is a change from the last time Bayliss won the WSBK title, when he took the #1 plate, but failed to retain it, losing out to Colin Edwards.
Bayliss destroyed the opposition at the recent Pirelli tyre test at Phillip Island, Australia. He was fastest rider on all three days of the test, stamping his authority on this season before it has even begun. The laid-back Aussie is in outstanding form, winning the WSBK title, winning the last race of the MotoGP season (and of the 990cc era) and now topping the testing tables.
His main opposition for the upcoming season seems to be Honda's James Toseland, runner up in the championship last year and also a former WSBK champion. Toseland has been consistently fast in testing, and was clearly getting faster and faster on the Honda last year. Fellow Australian, fellow Troy and fellow WSBK Champion, Troy Corser and his Japanese team-mate Nori Haga are making steady progress on the brand new Yamaha R1, but it wasn't devastatingly quick "out of the box" and still needs a lot of work. Newcomer Max Biaggi has posted some quick times on the Suzuki, and is rarely more than a tenth or two down on his team-mate Kagayama, but still seems to be adjusting to the heavier Superbikes.
Possibly a surprise challenger could be Bayliss's Ducati team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi, who posted the second fastest time on the final day of the Phillip Island Test. It was a surprise to many when Lanzi was re-hired by Ducati despite a year of woeful results (but less of a surprise to the cynics who pointed out the kid's nationality). However, Lanzi was ultra-fast when he first raced a works Ducati, only stuttering after the devastating loss of his father. The Italian team are well known for their family atmosphere, and Lanzi's excellent performance in testing might just show that Ducati have managed to rekindle his confidence.
Despite Neil Hodgson's suspicions, I do not believe that Bayliss is at all scared of having a quick team-mate. Bayliss is not a Michael Schumacher character. He is certainly not known for the German's style of cheating and demanding weak team-mates. If Lanzi is quick, Bayliss will ride quicker, and enjoy doing it. Any man who beats Loris Capirossi on an identical MotoGP Ducati has nothing to fear.