Bayliss celebrates title with win

Eurosport - Mon, 06 Oct 08:05:00 2008

Troy Bayliss celebrated his World Superbike championship with a victory in race two at Magny-Cours.

Bayliss had already sealed the title after finishing third behind winner Noriyuki Haga in race one.

The 39-year-old Australian, who retires at the end of the season, rode his Xerox Ducati to a controlled podium finish in the first race.

Knowing third place would guarantee him the title, Bayliss produced an uncharacteristically restrained race before exploding into life at the chequered flag.

There was evident relief for Ducati, after Bayliss had failed to wrap up the championship as expected in the last round at Vallelunga - finishing sixth and 16th to keep Haga and Corser in with a mathematical chance of overhauling him.

The celebrations were kept to a minimum, however, prior to the end of race two in which Bayliss just edged Haga for the win after making his attack on the penultimate lap.

Troy Corser took the final place on the podium and trails Haga in the race for second place overall after to his Yamaha Motor Italia team-mate's race one victory.

"It was a great race in the end, we made one change and put on a harder front tyre for the second race," Bayliss said.

"The grip was similar but more consistent during the race. I was struggling on the exits to the tight corner, losing a bit to Nori, but it's always like this.

"You lose some and gain some. I gave it my all, there wasn't much to lose, I put three good laps together at the end and it was a great win."

Andrew Pitt claimed a second world championship for Australia, winning the World Supersport title.

Pitt won the Magny-Cours race while his Ten Kate Honda team-mate and closest rival Jonathan Rea could do no better than 10th after being taken out by Robbin Harms.

Haga takes Vallelunga double

Eurosport - Sun, 21 Sep 21:47:00 2008

Noriyuki Haga took a sensational double win in round 12 of the World Superbike Championship at Vallelunga in Italy, while championship leader Troy Bayliss spurned a chance to seal the title when he crashed out on the last lap of Race 2.

Bayliss will now have to wait until Magny-Cours to win the championship.

In Race 1, Yamaha's Japanese rider Haga powered to his fifth win this season by fending off Max Biaggi and Troy Corser, who were second and third respectively.

Max Neukirchner recovered from a poor start to grab fourth place from Carlos Checa and Bayliss, who struggled after making a wrong choice of tyre.

Race 2 saw Haga win again, although he had to work much harder under constant pressure from Bayliss.

But the win was sealed when Australian Bayliss crashed out at low speed on the final lap's hairpin.

Michel Fabrizio took second, with Corser getting third again.

Bayliss is still favourite for the title as he just has to score 21 points from his last four races.

Bayliss breaks Donnington duck

Eurosport - Sun, 07 Sep 17:19:00 2008

Troy Bayliss closed in on his third World Superbike title after breaking his Donington duck on a chaotic day of racing.

The 39-year-old is retiring at the end of the season and capped his last competitive visit to Britain by finally winning at the Leicestershire circuit in difficult conditions.

Bayliss first raced at Donington in 1998 but had never won there after a series of nightmares - including losing his little finger in a crash last season.

Xerox Ducati rider Bayliss took race one on aggregate from British wildcard rider Tom Sykes, after the race was twice stopped, before reverting to type and crashing out of race two.

The Australian is now 101 points ahead of fellow countryman Troy Corser with just 200 points up for grabs.

This week's horrendous weather had meant the riders had not been on the circuit in the dry all weekend but the field were greeted with a drying track at the start of race one.

Former British Superbike champion Ryuichi Kiyonari won the double last time out at Brands Hatch and made a great start to race one to lead Bayliss.

But the Japanese rider crashed out on just the second lap leaving Sykes to pressure - and pass - Bayliss.

The tricky conditions then saw a host of top riders crash out including Max Neukirchner, Carlos Checa and Corser all at the same corner before the race was red flagged on lap 10.

A lengthy delay followed as those riders allowed to restart made their way back to the pits before the racing got back under way.

Sykes held a near four-second lead at the restart but Bayliss soon passed the Huddersfield-born rider and set about chasing down the aggregate lead.

The veteran reeled off a series of fast laps to regain the lead before the rain returned to bring a second red flag and give him his 49th Superbike win.

Sterilgarda Ducati rider Max Biaggi was credited with third place after team-mate Ruben Xaus crashed out on the last lap.

The second race started in an absolute deluge of rain with Corser protesting the conditions were unraceable.

Kiyonari again got a good start though and broke away from Bayliss with Corser in third place ahead of two British wildcard riders in Cal Crutchlow and Leon Haslam.

HM Plant Honda rider Crutchlow eventually passed Corser to put himself into a podium position as the rain eased up.

Bayliss then crashed at high speed with 12 laps to go and despite picking the bike up and returning to the track retired a lap later.

Kiyonari held on to win from Crutchlow with Corser in third.

Crutchlow said: "The conditions were terrible but it's fantastic to get this result.

"Myself and the team have put in a lot of work for this round and we had a problem in race one.

"But they fixed up the bike for race two and to get on the podium in those conditions is a great result."

Kiyonari secures Brands double

Eurosport - Sun, 03 Aug 18:26:00 2008

Rookie rider Ryuichi Kiyonari claimed his first wins on the World Superbike stage with an impressive double at Brands Hatch.

The Honda rider, the reigning British Superbike champion, drew on his knowledge of the Fawkham track to outclass his more recognised rivals.
Kiyonari chased down runaway championship leader Troy Bayliss in the opening race to claim his maiden victory before battling it out with his Japanese countryman and 11-year veteran Noriyuki Haga in race two.

"I am very happy with the way this weekend has gone," Kiyonari said.
"I had a lot of pressure from Haga in race two and on many corners it made me make mistakes.
"I am very happy with the wins."

Bayliss extended his lead at the top of the championship standings to 82 points, with four rounds remaining, after he claimed second place behind Kiyonari in the first race.

Despite a disappointing 11th-placed finish in race two, after starting on pole the Australian was content with his weekend's work.

"I am just focusing on getting podiums at this stage," said Bayliss, whose nearest rival Max Neukirchner recorded finishes of seventh and fourth.

But the day belonged to Kiyonari who had served notice of his affinity with the Brands Hatch circuit on Saturday when he qualified third quickest.

Despite a lacklustre start to the opening race when he dropped back to seventh, the Honda rider's track knowledge proved crucial as he quickly picked off his rivals as he chased down Superpole winner Bayliss.

The Japanese rider was on the back of the Australian by the seventh lap when Haga slipped out of contention after losing his front end at Surtess.

Kiyonari eventually took the lead four laps from the end of the 25-lap race before easily outpacing Bayliss, who was forced to hold off the late surge of Max Biaggi to claim second.

Kiyonari and Haga dominated the second race as they embarked on an enthralling battle well ahead of the field.

They traded the lead on several occasions before a last-lap mistake from Haga, who was losing ground on his younger colleague, finally settled their duel.

Australian Troy Corser claimed third place in the final race to draw to within 10 points of second-placed Neukirchner in the overall standings.

Donington Park will host the next round of the season next month as the riders enjoy a four-week break.

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Bayliss wins Brno Superpole

Eurosport - Sun, 20 Jul 16:05:00 2008

Series leader Troy Bayliss produced a fine lap to take pole position for Sunday's World Superbikes round at Brno.

The 39-year-old had not topped the timesheets all weekend in the Czech Republic but produced a lap of one minute 58.345 seconds in superpole to put his Xerox Ducati at the head of the field.

Fellow Australian Troy Corser was second on his Yamaha Italia with Bayliss' team-mate Michel Fabrizio in third.

Home favourite Jakub Smrz was fastest on Friday but could only manage eighth in superpole with Max Neukirchner - Bayliss' nearest challenger in the championship - down in ninth on his Alstare Suzuki.

Bayliss is 49 points ahead of the German as he searches for his third title but he has not won a race since April.

Corser admitted that he was struggling for grip at times and predicted a difficult day for the pack if the weather turns.

He said: "Today was not so bad and we did a lot of work on the bike from the first to second sessions. We tried different gearing and changed the front fork springs to improve the feel of the bike in the afternoon. Initially, the bike felt a bit like it felt at Miller in America a few rounds ago, so we will alter the balance and see if that improves it.

"The track feels a bit dirty and probably needs more (bike) rubber down on it to improve the grip.

"The new asphalt is giving us all a different feeling to last year and we need to understand what is happening with the grip in order to set up the bike properly.

"It's not ideal but it's the same for everyone. I think it'll be OK for raceday as long as it doesn't rain."

SUPERBIKES

1-Troy Bayliss (Ducati) 1:58.345

2-Troy Corser (Yamaha) 1:58.451

3-Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) 1:58.853

4-Max Biaggi (Ducati) 1:59.069

5-Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) 1:59.318

6-Niccolo Canepa (Ducati) 1:59.324

7-Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) 1:59.360

8-Jakub Smrz (Ducati) 1:59.451

9-Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) 1:59.497

10-Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 1:59.537

11-Ruben Xaus (Ducati) 1:59.545

12-Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) 1:59.571

13-Carlos Checa (Honda) 1:59.587

14-Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) 1:59.639

15-Karl Muggeridge (Honda) 2:00.306

Double Dutch for Bayliss

Eurosport - Mon, 28 Apr 12:39:00 2008

Troy Bayliss secured a double race win at Assen to stretch his World Superbike championship lead to 70 points.

The Australian had put his Xerox Ducati on pole position and also took both race wins in the Netherlands as he continued to dominate his final series before retirement.

Bayliss took his points total to 178 as Spaniard Carlos Checa moved up to second in the standings after two podium finishes at Assen on the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda.

Bayliss was delighted with his perfect weekend which saw him add his second double race win of the season to pole position.

"It's been an incredible weekend, taking pole and two race wins is a great way to finish it off," he said.

Bayliss won the first race after Japanese rider Yukio Kagayama made a mistake while leading at one third distance.

Bayliss took over at the front and from that point was able to control the race to take the victory.
Checa waited patiently before easing past Kagayama's Alstare Suzuki team-mate Max Neukirchner to take the runner-up spot, with Kagayama back in fourth ahead of Troy Corser on the Yamaha Motor Italia machine.

A relieved Bayliss, who saw the condition of his tyres deteriorate late in the race, said: "I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

"I made a really good start but it's a long time to be out there [in the lead] by yourself.

"I was looking around more than normal but I wanted to see where Carlos was."

Checa had taken out Neukirchner at the previous round in Valencia with a desperate late pass and did not want a repeat at Assen.

"I have thought about what happened in Valencia," the Spaniard said. "My front tyre was not so good but when I saw a place where I could pass Max I went past him."

Race two was a four-way battle at the front with Bayliss leading Japan's Nori Haga on the Yamaha Motor Italia machine, German Neukirchner and the Sterilgarda Ducati of Ruben Xaus.

Bayliss and Haga broke away and it was the Australian who held off his rival to complete his double race win.

Xaus had got the better of Neukirchner but his hopes of a podium spot were dashed in the closing stages as Checa closed in and grabbed third place.

In the Supersport class, Briton Jonathan Rea missed out on victory by just one hundredth of a second as Ten Kate Honda team-mate Andrew Pitt claimed a narrow victory.

Parkalgar Honda's Craig Jones led the race briefly before fading, and had to settle for a ninth-place finish.

Superbike Race one results
1. Troy Bayliss (Aus) Ducati 36:50.907;
2. Carlos Checa (Esp) Honda 36:53.039;
3. Max Neukirchner (Ger) Suzuki 36:53.086;
4. Yukio Kagayama (Jpn) Suzuki 37:01.826;
5. Troy Corser (Aus) Yamaha 37:01.958;
6. Jakub Smrz (Cze) Ducati 37:02.886;
7. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Jpn) Honda 37:06.091;
8. Makoto Tamada (Jpn) Kawasaki 37:09.302;
9. Gregorio Lavilla (Esp) Honda 37:09.541;
10. Max Biaggi (Ita) Ducati 37:11.606;
11. Regis Laconi (Fra) Kawasaki 37:16.666;
12. Kenan Sofuoglu (Tur) Honda 37:16.971

Race two results
1. Troy Bayliss (Aus) Ducati 36:46.238;
2. Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Yamaha 36:46.320;
3. Carlos Checa (Esp) Honda 36:52.574;
4. Ruben Xaus (Esp) Ducati 36:53.813;
5. Max Neukirchner (Ger) Suzuki 36:54.249;
6. Yukio Kagayama (Jpn) Suzuki 37:00.237;
7. Gregorio Lavilla (Esp) Honda 37:01.453;
8. Jakub Smrz (Cze) Ducati 37:02.614;
9. Makoto Tamada (Jpn) Kawasaki 37:03.507;
10. Troy Corser (Aus) Yamaha 37:04.618;
11. Fonsi Nieto (Esp) Suzuki 37:05.164;
12. Max Biaggi (Ita) Ducati 37:07.690

Championship standings
1. Troy Bayliss (Aus) Ducati 178pts;
2. Carlos Checa (Esp) Honda 108;
3. Troy Corser (Aus) Yamaha 89;
4. Fonsi Nieto (Esp) Suzuki 85;
5. Ruben Xaus (Esp) Ducati 81;
6. Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Yamaha 67;
7. Max Neukirchner (Ger) Suzuki 66;
8. Max Biaggi (Ita) Ducati 54;

Lanzi and Haga claim wins

Eurosport - Mon, 07 Apr 12:40:00 2008

Lorenzo Lanzi and Noriyuki Haga claimed victory in the two World Superbike races at Valencia, while Troy Bayliss consolidated his position as championship leader with a pair of second-place finishes.

RACE ONE

Lanzi (pictured) inherited an extraordinary victory after the front two riders crashed on the final corner.

Suzuki's Max Neukirchner had led the entire race after starting on pole, but was taken out as Ten Kate Honda man Carlos Checa attempted a heroic last-gasp overtaking manoeuvre.

The move failed and both men ended in the gravel, handing victory to the disbelieving Lanzi, who led home fellow Ducati Troy Bayliss and Yamaha's Troy Corser.

Checa remounted to claim fifth place, sandwiched between Fonsi Nieto and Karl Muggeridge.

The German Neukirchner appeared destined for an easy win after building a commanding lead, but was reeled in by Checa, who was roared on by a partisan Spanish crowd.

The track claimed a large number of victims, with Haga, Ruben Xaus, Yukio Kagayama and Sebastien Gimbert, heavily, among those crashing out, while Max Biaggi's hopes were ended after running wide.

Ducati have been threatened with a weight penalty if their dominance of the series continues, and the Italian manufacturer somehow managed a one-two despite being outclassed for most of the race.

1 - Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati)
2 - Troy Bayliss (Ducati) +2.987
3 - Troy Corser (Yamaha) +7.287
4 - Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) +11.992
5 - Carlos Checa (Honda) +12.824
6 - Karl Muggeridge (Honda) +13.125
7 - Gregorio Lavilla (Honda) +13.191
8 - Regis Laconi (Kawasaki) +13.906
9 - Makoto Tamada (Kawasaki) +17.254
10 - Roberto Rolfo (Honda) +18.606

RACE TWO

Having fallen earlier, Haga finally kicked his 2008 season into gear with a pulsating win in the second race.

The Japanese Yamaha rider was expected to contend for the title but managed no better than ninth in the first five races of the year.

However, he finally showed his pedigree, holding off Bayliss, while Checa made partial amends for his earlier indiscretion by finishing third. Neukirchner, however, did not even make the grid for race two.

Ryuichi Kiyonari, Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama completed the top six, while Ruben Xaus managed to hold off Max Biaggi in an entertaining battle for seventh.

Although the veteran Australian Bayliss was unable to add to his tally of three wins from the first four races of the season, he extended his championship lead to 48 points over Nieto.

1 - Noriyuki Haga (Honda)
2 - Troy Bayliss (Ducati) +1.551
3 - Carlos Checa (Honda) +2.903
4 - Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +7.277
5 - Troy Corser (Yamaha) +8.051
6 - Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) +9.223
7 - Ruben Xaus (Ducati) +10.164
8 - Max Biaggi (Ducati) +10.614
9 - Regis Laconi (Kawasaki) +17.234
10 - Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) +18.100

Near-perfect Bayliss wants better

Eurosport - Wed, 02 Apr 13:17:00 2008
Troy Bayliss has sounded an ominous warning ahead of the Valencia GP on Sunday, saying he is now fully fit and ready to improve on his record of three wins in four races.

The Australian secured a double at his native Phillip Island after opening the season with a victory in Qatar, but said he should have had a clean sweep and is only likely to improve.

"I've won three races so far this year, but I should have won four. It's been a good start, but I had a bit of a front tyre problem at the second race in Qatar, so I feel like I was robbed," he told MCN.

"Now I'm looking forward to going to Valencia and getting a couple of good results there."

Bayliss has opened up a commanding championship lead and is well on course to regain the world title he won in 2006, especially now he is free of injury.

"I've been training my arse off and I feel that I've come a long way since damaging my elbow at Phillip Island.

"I had a really bad case of tennis elbow for a while with a big lump, but it's finally gone down.

"Now that my collarbone is also sorted, I've been able to do proper gym sessions so everything is good."

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Bayliss and Nieto win in Losail

Eurosport - Sat, 23 Feb 19:55:00 2008

Troy Bayliss and Fonsi Nieto shared the wins in the opening round of the Superbike World Championship in Qatar.

Australia"s double WSBK champion Bayliss had the honour of scoring the Ducati 1098's maiden victory in the first encounter while Spaniard Nieto picked up his first race win since 2003 on the Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Race 1
Bayliss had to work hard for the win from eighth place on the opening lap. He put his wheels on the edge a few times as he made his way to the front and then had a terrific duel with Max Biaggi (Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati) on the final lap to seal victory. The Italian, in front from lap 12 to 17, went slightly wide and had to settle for second.

Third went to poleman Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia), who ran in the top three throughout, while Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Go Eleven) made it three 1098s in the top four.

Max Neukirchner looked impressive on the Alstare Suzuki, leading for most of the first half of the race, eventually finishing fifth ahead of Carlos Checa (HANNspree Ten Kate Honda), while Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) had a nasty high-side on lap seven.

"I guess it was special to take the 1098 to its first win and it's the first time I've had a win here at Losail," declared Bayliss.

"I thought it was going to be between me, Troy and Nori, but Neukirchner surprised me and Max did a good job as well. It was a hard race, I got a terrible start and had to really ride hard to get to the front.

"I made a couple of mistakes, eventually when I reached Max I was on the limit. Then it was a matter of playing our cards, he went a bit wide and that gave me the advantage to come home to the finish line."

Race 1 results
1. Troy Bayliss (Ducati)
2. Max Biaggi (Ducati) +0.396
3. Troy Corser (Yamaha) +1.878
4. Ruben Xaus (Ducati) +4.487
5. Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) +7.505
6. Carlos Checa (Honda) +9.639
7. Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) +9.725
8. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) +19.537
9. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) +23.156
10. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) +24.429
11. Roberto Rolfo (Honda) +27.595
12. Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) +27.979
13. Gregorio Lavilla (Honda) +28.237
14. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) +30.205
15. Regis Laconi (Kawasaki) +31.882

Race 2
The second race saw a battle up front between Corser, who led for nine laps before fading, Biaggi, Xaus and Nieto.

Biaggi and Xaus both had spells in the lead but neither were able to shake off Nieto, who took over at the front with three laps to go. The Spaniard went on to take his first-ever WSBK win ahead of his compatriot Xaus and Biaggi.

The two factory Ducati riders Bayliss and Fabrizio were fourth and fifth with Corser finishing sixth.

"It's nice for me, I haven't won for four years and I'm really happy," said Nieto.

"When I arrived in World Superbike it was really difficult for me. I worked really hard for four seasons and this is a dream come true. We are not yet 100% with the frame of the bike but the engine is the best now, today I won because I had a really good engine. I rode with my mind and never gave up."

Race 2 results
1. Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki)
2. Ruben Xaus (Ducati) +0.301
3. Max Biaggi (Ducati) +1.321
4. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) +6.452
5. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) +7.627
6. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) +9.117
7. Troy Corser (Yamaha) +10.806
8. Max Neukirchner (Suzuki) +11.661
9. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) +13.269
10. Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) +14.563
11. Carlos Checa (Honda) +15.953
12. Makoto Tamada (Kawasaki) +16.748
13. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) +18.356
14. Gregorio Lavilla (Honda) +26.311
15. Roberto Rolfo (Honda) +26.560

Riders points: 1. Bayliss 38; 2. Biaggi 36; 3. Nieto 34; 4. Xaus 33; 5. Corser 25; 6. Neukirchner 19; etc.

Manufacturers points: 1. Ducati 45; 2. Suzuki 36; 3. Yamaha 25; 4. Honda 16; 5. Kawasaki 5.