In what is to be his last ever superbike outing at Phillip Island,
Troy Bayliss took a double win for Ducati in front of his home crowd, looking in complete control.
Despite an elbow injury sustained in a high-side on Saturday morning, Bayliss rode the two races perfectly, leading the field from the start in race one and leading for most of race two after rival
Troy Corser crashed out in the early stages.
"It's something you dream of,” admitted Bayliss, “I knew, this year, it would be difficult to achieve, but I have a great team behind me who all worked really hard overnight to build a new bike for me from scratch after my crash yesterday.
“After race one, I was struggling in the last six laps but, in the end, I managed to take the win. In the second race, the tyres were a little slower, but I felt better on the bike, which was more consistent and a pleasure to ride. After race one, I was so tired but, after the second one, I felt great.”
Bayliss alluded to the fact that the speed of the new bike may be tamed by WSBK bosses, who have said that they will increase the weight of the new 1089 if it shows too much speed. Three wins from four outings may add weight to the argument, but the Bayliss wasn't going to miss celebrating the moment.
“I had to concentrate hard today as, in the second race, even though I was ahead, I was aware I had to keep it together and put in some consistently good laps,” the Aussie said, “I know there will be fighting to come later this season so two wins like that was just fantastic."
Bayliss now leads the riders' championship by 27 points from
Fonsi Nieto, while Ducati leads the manufacturers' championship by a similarly comfortable margin.
