Bayliss: I had a good go with Valentino.

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss rode a storming race yesterday - snatching the holeshot from the third row of the grid and leading until just after one-third distance. And the hard-charging Aussie had never even ridden Welkom before Friday!

Apart from taking the lead, the highlight of Troy's GP was a frantic mid-race battle with World Champion Valentino Rossi, which saw the pair trade places for five laps, before the Aussie eased his pace and took a safe fourth place.

"My start wasn't so bad, but I only missed Nakano by millimetres after he seemed to stall! I was thinking: 'I shouldn't be out front just yet, maybe not for another couple of races!'" joked Bayliss, who started from ninth on the grid.

"I took it a little steady, checking the mess from the oil, then it was just nice to be part of the action, because that's what it's all about. I had a good go with Valentino, it was good to be in the race, it's been a while," said Troy with a wry smile. "The bike was working really well, the only problem was that we'd lifted the footpegs a little, and that was really uncomfortable for my knees.

"I kind of cruised the last ten laps because I knew then that I couldn't do any better than fourth. The team's done a great job here, we've still got some things to learn, but we're all looking forward to Jerez."

Team-mate Loris Capirossi, who scored the team's first front-row start, had a much less successful day, withdrawing from the race on lap nine.

"Not such a great day," said a disappointed Capirossi. "The start was hectic, Biaggi and I collided on the way to turn one, which lost me some places, but the bike was running perfect, so I was confident. But then I ran onto the grass at turn two because of the oil mess, which was a real problem for me after that.

"When I ran off again and had no chance of making the points, I thought it sensible to stop. It's a shame because I had hopes of a good race, the bike has once again shown that it's very strong."

"For sure that was a wonderful race for the fans to watch, but not so good for us because the overall result wasn't as good as Suzuka," added Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli, referring to the team's remarkable third- and fifth-place debut performance in the season-opening Japanese GP.

"We did a good job, but not a perfect job! We're kind of happy because the bike and tyres lasted and we showed once again that we have very fast riders. Loris pulled out because he had a lot of trouble with the mess from the oil that someone dropped on the warm-up lap," concluded Cecchinelli.