Wednesday, May 1, 2013
TROY BAYLISS
Troy Bayliss is a truly likeable character who has taken the world by storm. After replacing the injured Fogarty at the start of the 2000 season, Bayliss has emerged as one of the most dominant riders the championship has ever seen. His consistent riding style makes him a threat to be a title contender for years to come. Dont think for a minute the Aussie is boring though - his tire shredding corner exits have graced many a photo gallery since his arrival and his bold post race celebrations have elevated his fan favorite status off the charts.
After a couple dismal seasons in MotoGP, Bayliss returned to his roots with the Factory Ducati squad in World Superbike. All he did there was storm his way onto the 2006 WSB Championship. Then for good measure he claimed a flag-to-flag victory in the MotoGP finale, where Ducati let him ride the second GP7 seat vacated by an injured Sete Gibernau.
2007 was less kind to Bayliss, will a nasty crash during actually grinding off part of the Aussies pinkie. The tough champ still labored on with his Xerox Ducati, but had to settle for fourth championship.
Coming into 2008,with the new 1198cc 1098R at his disposal, the Aussie earned Ducati its first win with the new machine at the opening round in Qatar. He continued his domination of the 08 season finishing on the podium 19 times, qualifying for eight superpoles and winning 11 races. Bayliss took home his third World Superbike Championship and retired from motorcycle racing.
