Iconic Ducati rider Troy Bayliss wasn’t even supposed to race in the Thailand round of the World Superbike Championship. But an injury to Davide Giugliano in the Philip Island round of the series put Ducati in a bind. Giugliano would be unavailable for the race, so the company did what it had to do: tap an old head to do it one more solid.
Well, it looks like Ducati’s gamble on Bayliss paid off because the 46-year old rider was at his absolute best, putting on a riding clinic to a competitive field made up of riders half of his age. Bayliss didn’t win the race, finishing in 8th position - a penalty did cause him to drop by one place to 9th - in Race 1 and 11th in Race 2.
Ducati knew that winning this race was going to be tough even with Giugliano in the saddle. But once he went down with the injury, Ducati had to do what it could to just get a competitive bike in the race. Bayliss did that and more, securing valuable points for the team, even if it meant that his ride was a one-shot deal.
Still, you can’t help but admire the way Bayliss competed and finished in competitive fashion. For somebody pushing the envelope to 50 years old, his performance at the Thailand round of the SBK championship shows just how good Troy Bayliss was and still is.
Click "continue reading" to read more about Troy Bayliss’ impressive performance at the World Superbike Championship.
Troy Bayliss Puts On Impressive Showing As Ducati Substitue At The WSBK originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 23 March 2015 16:00 EST.
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