Troy Bayliss has taken charge of the World Superbike Championship again after a dominant double victory at Brno, one of the few circuits he had never won at before.
Although Bayliss has stayed in control of the lead of the championship throughout the year, his last win occurred at Assen three months ago heading into the ninth round of the season.
However, despite counting Brno as one of his ‘bogey' circuits, Bayliss broke his duck around the classic Czech circuit in style, taking pole position and then following it up with two comfortable race wins.
Victories number 47 and 48, the results move Bayliss past Aaron Slight to third on the all-time list for podiums too, while his championship lead now stands at 79 over Max Neukirchner with ten races of the season – and his career – remaining.
"I am very happy and of course it's increased my championship lead which is great,” he mused afterwards. “I rode two really good races. I struggled a little at the start of Race 1 but once I started to pull away in the closing stages I began to relax a bit.”
Still, neither race was as simple as mere statistics suggest, with Bayliss struggling slightly at the start of each one and having to battle his way back into the lead. Nonetheless, once there, the Xerox Ducati rider was able to manage his tyres well and remain in front to the chequered flag.
“My Ducati has worked perfectly and was a pleasure to ride so a big thank you to my team as we just got everything right today. The tyres did the job too and we didn't seem to suffer from the tyre wear that affected some of the other front-runners.
“In race 2 the other guys were coming fast towards the end, and I didn't have much left to give, but I held on and am extremely happy with the result. Well done to Michel too who rode two great races here today."
