Having already revealed his desired list of riders to replace
Troy Bayliss in his team next year, Xerox Ducati team boss Davide Tardozzi has given an exclusive interview with
Crash.net to reveal he tried to persuade Bayliss to stay on 2009, that
Michel Fabrizio is likely to be retained next year and the Ducati 1098 is not the dominating factor in this year's championship...
Crash.net
With Ducati leading both championships, you must be quite satisfied with the season so far?
DT
It has been very good. We have a new bike and we are really happy with it, but we have to share this with the riders such as Troy, but also
Ruben Xaus and
Lorenzo Lanzi because they have won races for us too. We don't think the job is done though. I want to remind you that we lost 50 points at Miller Motorsports Park a couple of months ago, so we are really focused on the job and aware that something like that could happen again. We could have problems so we must concentrate until the end for the championship.
Crash.net
How pleasing was it to see Troy Bayliss win the 500th WSBK race when you won the very first one back in 1988?
DT
I only thought about that when I read it on some websites. I haven't spoken to Troy about it yet but it will be a matter of us laughing and enjoying it together. I am happy about that, but I am looking forward, not backwards. I want to see the next win, not what I did 20 years ago.
Crash.net
How sad are you to see Troy Bayliss hanging up his helmet at the end of the season after such an illustrious career?
DT
We spoke with Troy during the season ask if he would consider doing one more year with Ducati, but in the end we decided together to do it now for a variety of reasons. We are happy Troy has tried to win the championship and be the first motorcycle rider to end their career with the championship in their pocket. If it happens, it will be fantastic, but we know we will give Troy a fantastic party at the end of the season, regardless of the result. He has given us a championship at least and a lot of emotion, so all of Ducati and fans will be happy to be there with us.
Crash.net
Are you pleased with how Michel Fabrizio is conducting himself, particularly after Brno?
DT
We asked Michel to grow from where he was and that is something he is doing. Even though he has three years of experience, he has been with lower teams so he hasn't had the chance to grow in the perfect way. This year shows the potential we saw in the past is there and the steps he has made in half a season are much bigger than before, so we think he could be one of the top guys of the near future.
Crash.net
Was there something quite symbolic about him beating Max Biaggi – one of the riders tipped to replace Bayliss - on the final lap of both Brno races?
DT
It is a race and he has to perform at his maximum like Max does, but he finally beat him twice and I am happy for Michel. I am particularly pleased as Michel is a Max Biaggi fan, so it was a huge emotion for him to beat his hero twice.
