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07.09.2007, 00:31
Bayliss draws a line under 2007 and looking ahead to 2008
A straight-talking Troy Bayliss has already conceded he won’t win back to back World Superbike titles, and the veteran Australian is now looking to fast-track his preparations for a renewed assault in 2008.
With round 11 of this year’s championship to be held at the Eurospeedway Lausitz in Germany this weekend, Bayliss (Ducati) is currently perched in a lonely fourth place, 28pts behind third-placed Max Biaggi (Suzuki), and a massive 97pts behind championship leader James Toseland (Honda). Three rounds remain in the title.
Just two rounds ago, the championship was delicately poised, with a resurgent Bayliss just 21pts behind a struggling Toseland. However, the balance of power quickly shifted back towards the Briton when his ruthless early season form returned at Brno -- just as Bayliss’ year took another down turn.
Bayliss then identified the last round at Brands Hatch as his last roll of the dice but, after qualifying in pole position, he crashed out of the opener, and was a listless seventh in race two. It left his defence in tatters.
“We always knew that Brands was going to be a turning point,” said Bayliss. “It was certainly a big disappointment for us and the title is out of reach now, so I'm just going to try and win races now and finish runner-up in the championship.
“The last couple of rounds have not gone my way but I've had a good break since Brands and am just keen to get back racing again.”
Despite the bitter disappointment, Bayliss is now planning his attack on 2008, which will include some earlier than expected private testing on the all-new Ducati 1098, which is replacing the weary 999.
“As it now looks like I can't win now, that puts me in a position to test the new bike,” said Bayliss. “I should be on it in a private test in a couple of weeks’ time, which I am really looking forward to.”
But first Bayliss -- who recently spent some R&R back home in Australia -- has to get through this weekend at Lausitz, which is an unremarkable 4.265km circuit that first opened for business in 2000. Bayliss won three of the first four races at Lausitz in 2001 and 2002, even though it’s always been one of the harder circuits for his Ducati to shine.
“I've always done okay at Lausitz, I enjoy riding there and I've had some good races, even though last year was not good,” said Bayliss.” I crashed out on lap five of race one while leading, recovering from 23rd to finish seventh, and then finished third in race two.
“Ducati doesn’t really have any advantage at Lausitz. Even though I've won races there, we tend to struggle a bit, probably because of the short, smaller corners.”
Despite its nondescript layout, Lausitz has always produced exceptionally close racing, with six of the eight World Superbike races won by less than a second. In fact, Bayliss 1.650-second victory in 2002 counts as the biggest ‘blowout’ since the World Superbike caravan first visited in 2001.
Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) and Toseland shared victories at Lausitz in 2006. Toseland, who has signed with Yamaha to go MotoGP racing in 2008, only has to continue racking up points to claim the championship, but he’s not relaxing in the presence of Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha, 289pts) and Biaggi.
“We had a great result last year at Lausitz after winning a hard battle against Haga, so it's a track we know we can do well at,” said Toseland. “If we can have a weekend similar to Brands Hatch then it will be difficult for the rivals to catch us in the championship. However, at this stage there is still all to play for and 66pts is not a big enough lead to enable us to relax. We still need to concentrate and hopefully we can do the job.”
Haga is probably overdue for a win at Lausitz after finishing on the podium in the last four races, while Biaggi has never competed at the German circuit.
“Although I have not raced at Lausitz, I tested here earlier this year so at least I know which way the track goes round!” said Biaggi. “Although it's not a hugely demanding circuit, it is a track where you need a good rhythm if you are to lap quickly. So, once again, a good setup is important.”
Wollongong’s Troy Corser (Yamaha) will keep plugging away at Lausitz after a season that promised so much, but has only recently begun to hit top gear. Corser remains in fifth on 227pts, well in front of Spaniard Ruben Xaus (Ducati, 163pts).
“Lausitz is quite a different track to many of those on the calendar and I like it for that reason,” said Corser. “It's a bit like an American track with the infield section and grandstands around the outside.
"This weekend I'm going all-out to win; I've gone well at Lausitz in the past and Nori's previous results there show that the Yamaha also goes well so it should be a good weekend.”
Melbourne’s Steve Martin makes another pinch-hitting return to World Superbikes, this time as a substitute on a Suzuki – his third different bike in 2007. Karl Muggeridge (Honda) will be the final Aussie in action.
In World Supersport, the battle for second in the championship is still on between Kawasaki’s Fabien Foret, Honda’s Katsuaki Fujiwara, Robbin Harms (Honda) and Australia’s Broc Parkes (Yamaha), who won at Brands Hatch.
Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) has already been crowned world champion, and this will be the closest thing to a home track for him, as he first moved to Germany from his native Turkey to further his career. Sofuoglu won last year’s Lausitz race, too.
Other riders to look out for include another Australian, Joshua Brookes (Honda), and outgoing world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda).
Meanwhile, Foret has been announced as Parkes’ Yamaha teammate in 2008, replacing Australian Kevin Curtain, who has missed most of this season with injury.
2007 WORLD SUPERBIKE STANDINGS (after 10 of 13 rounds):
1 James Toseland, Great Britain, Honda 355
2 Noriyuki Haga, Japan, Yamaha 289
3 Max Biaggi, Italy, Suzuki 286
4 Troy Bayliss, Australia, Ducati 258
5 Troy Corser, Australia, Yamaha 227
6 Ruben Xaus, Spain, Ducati 163
7 Lorenzo Lanzi, Italy, Ducati 161
8 Roberto Rolfo, Italy, Honda 146
9 Max Neukirchner, Germany, Suzuki 123
10 Yukio Kagayama, Japan, Suzuki 116
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