Troy Bayliss will feature in the first of a series of Ducati Corse Official Instagram livestream interviews wth racers to entertain riders on “home detention” during the pandemic.
The Aussie three-time World Superbike champion will star on the @ducaticorse Instagram page tonight at 8pm (AEST or noon Italian time).
The following two Thursdays will feature American Champion Ben Bostrom and Ducati Corse eSport rider Andrea Saveri.
Italian presenter DJ Ringo will interview his guests interacting with the viewers through the comments left during the live stream.
Ducati says they will open dealerships with a program of special cleaning, customer distancing, masks and other precautions developed by a special task force, says Ducati spokesman Francesco Milicia.
“It is now clear to everyone that the virus won’t disappear from our lives any time soon,” Francesco says.
“We will have to learn to deal with it, putting in place all possible actions to protect ourselves, allowing us to return to live our lives again.
“It is in this context that, by capitalising on the experiences gathered by our internal Task Force as well as some of our Asian dealers, we have developed the Ducati Cares program to support our dealer network all over the world.
“It will allow our dealers to welcome our customers in the safest and most practical way.”
However, he has tweeted that his demo V4R that he uses for promotional duties pillioning customers around the track has been stolen.
Stolen, straight out the back door of our race truck at Somerton VIC while driver having a shower. What the hell do you want a two-up bike for? It’s due for an engine rebuild as well, you ain’t going far on that.
Troy’s race truck
Troy says he is hoping to catch the thief on CCTV and says in another tweet:
If anyone spots a V4R two-up bike cruising down the highway can you stick a broom handle in the front wheel and cut off at least one of the hands of the rider?
We can certainly understand his feelings and many other riders have suggested similar penalties for bike thieves.
NSW introduced tougher penalties in 2006 of up to 14 years for anyone involved in motor vehicle theft or rebirthing.
While it has resulted in a decrease in car theft, it is not having any effect on motorcycle theft which is up 17.1% in NSW compared with an increase of 11.7% nationwide.
Law enforcement agencies agree that tougher penalties are needed. But maybe not castration, nor cutting off a hand as they still do in Saudi Arabia!
The problem has been that organised criminal rings use specialist criminals for different functions of the same offence.
They include bike thieves, burglars who break into your house to steal car or bike keys, re-birthers, fencers and document forgers.
This has made it difficult to convict offenders and gang bosses or organisers. Charges were often not proven or bargained down to lesser charges, such as receiving stolen property.
At best, the conviction system was protracted with little or no joy for the victims.
In 2006, the NSW government amended the Crimes Act 1900 to introduce a new offence of knowingly facilitating a rebirthing activity carried out on an organised basis.
It applied to any and all members in the network involved in stealing your motorcycle or car with tougher penalties. The maximum penalty was 14 years in jail.
Last year a review of the laws founds they were not only catching some offenders who knowingly participate in a vehicle rebirthing activity but who may not be guilty of any other offence.
Yet it also found that sentences did not reflect the seriousness of the crime, given the lack of offenders receiving the 14-year maximum penalty.
Although it did note that the Court of Criminal Appeal and District Court “conscientiously assess the gravity of the offending when applying the standard non-parole period of four years”.
It also identified the difficulties of proving the offender’s knowledge of the motor vehicle theft network.
Despite this and the lack of maximum sentences, the review did not proposed any legislative changes.
Meanwhile, we wish Troy every success in both racing this weekend and finding his demo Duc.
2019 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) contenders DesmoSport Ducati, owned by three-time World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss, and Cube Performance Centre’s Ben Henry, are hosting their very own MotoGP corporate suite at turn four of the iconic Phillip Island circuit this year.
Troy Bayliss on the DesmoSport Ducati in ASBK, which will run alongside the MotoGP round
The team, currently leading the ASBK with Mike Jones, traditionally host just sponsors throughout the MotoGP weekend in various locations, has taken the unprecedented step of securing their own suite and are inviting you to come spend MotoGP with Ben, Troy, Mike and the entire DesmoSport race team.
Jack Miller at the Australian MotoGP
Ben Henry
“MotoGP is a spectacle, and an event that we as team enjoy racing each year, even though it isn’t a point scoring round of the ASBK. It gives us a great opportunity to catch up with a lot of our sponsors, friends and even other racers from across Australia and the world. Troy and I discussed our plans for MotoGP and decided that hosting a small hospitality suite would be a great way for us to enjoy the racing while we also got to spend some time with a great bunch of people.”
The ASBK DesmoSport Ducati
With the team looking to let their hair down at the event, the suite will have a maximum of just 40 people, in a relaxed and informal atmosphere where everyone will have the opportunity to not only spend time with the team and their sponsors, but a host of special guests throughout the weekend.
Australian Superbike MotoGP Supports in 2018
Troy Bayliss
“MotoGP is a great weekend of racing, and for us, is relatively low pressure, with no championship on the line, so I’m really looking forward to being able to spend some time relaxing with a small group of people throughout the weekend. I’m planning on getting a few old mates in for chat throughout the weekend too which will be a lot of fun!
Troy Bayliss
The team has indicated that they will also race in the support Superbike support category over the weekend, however have yet to confirm if it will be Bayliss or Jones who will race or on which of the teams two ASBK spec race bikes, the V4R or the Pangale FE.
Tickets include
Track entry
Intimate 40 person setting
Special Guests throughout the weekend
Full hot buffet lunch
Morning and afternoon tea
Access to the DesmoSport Ducati team garage
Premium beer, wine, soft drinks, tea and coffee
Outdoor viewing area with garden tables and chairs
Riders will be spoilt for choice this November as two major motorcycle events compete in NSW and the Melbourne Moto Expo returns.
The events will be run over three consecutive weekends, stretching the motorcycle industry resources.
Meanwhile, other states are missing out altogether.
Competing events
Moto Expo
The biannual Moto Expo has been held in Sydney and Melbourne for the past few years and even included Brisbane in 2014.
This year the Sydney Moto Expo, which is owned by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, will become the Australian Motorcycle Festival and move from Sydney to Wollongong from November 8-10. The Melbourne Moto Expo will also return to Melbourne Showgrounds on November 23-25.
These events are run by Troy Bayliss Events which the three-time World Superbike champestablished after retiring 11 years ago.
Some motorcycle companies have complained about the expense of displaying at the biannual Moto Expos, resulting in some brands being absent.
Consequently, the organisers have now chosen to change the NSW event from a Moto Expo to the Australian Motorcycle Festival and move to Wollongong where Harley-Davidson Australia held two Harley Days festivals in 2016 and ’17.
While NSW and Victoria get a wealth of shows and festivals, other states are missing out.
A Troy Bayliss Events spokesman says they continue to talk with manufacturers about a major motorcycle show returning to Brisbane.
“At this point we don’t have enough manufacturers willing to support more than one major exhibition each year,” he says.
“We would love to come back to Queensland soon.”
Inaugural festivals
Stunt displays
The inaugural Australian Motorcycle Festival will be held at Wollongong’s Lang Park on November 8-10 and include Round 3 of the 2019 Australian Supercross Championship.
Instead of just motorcycle displays, the event will feature test rides, motorcycle demonstrations and stunt riding.
Similarly, the inaugural Freak Show of Motorcycles, which will be hosted in the same town as the HOG rally, will feature hillclimb, custom show, flat-track exhibition racing, stalls, music, outdoor cinema, trade show, globe of death, donuts and burnouts in a closed-off arena.
The Troy Bayliss Events spokesman says they are “glad we haven’t clashed on the same weekend as the HOG Rally”.
“We had actually discussed dates very early on to ensure we didn’t clash with HOG Rally, along with numerous other manufacturers so we did not clash with events such as Snowy Ride, ASBK and other events taking place in November and October,” he says.
“It’s great to see so many motorcycle events in Australia, hopefully more major motorcycle events are taken to the wider community to promote the motorcycle Industry in positives ways.”
With Troy Bayliss opting to take some rest-time to aid his recovery from his recent surgery from injuries sustained at the first ASBK round at Phillip Island, the in-form MotoGP Wildcard Mike Jones, who has yet to confirm a ride overseas for 2019, is in the perfect position to re-join the team that he rode for in their inaugural season in the ASBK back in 2016.
Jones recently joined ASBK regulars for testing at Morgan Park, and is of course is no stranger to Ducati machinery, and took little time get back in the groove. The team elected to not run a transponder, thus no times were registered on the circuit timing system, but talk around the paddock suggested that Jones might have actually undercut Maxwell by two-tenths-of-a-second to end the day fastest, unofficially at least…
Mike Jones -Image by TDJ Images
Ben Henry – DesmoSport Team Manager
“We’re obviously disappointed that Troy can’t line up on the grid next weekend, but we’re fortunate to be able to call on Mike (Jones) to step in. Mike is in great form right now, setting the fastest Australian Superbike lap at Phillip Island during round one, and it was great to have him back on the bike in testing last week. We really couldn’t ask for more credentialed rider to ride the Panigale FE, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Mike can do for us at round two.”
Mike Jones -Image by TDJ Images
Mike Jones
“While it’s unfortunate Troy can’t ride, I’m grateful for the opportunity to join DesmoSport Ducati. I initially tested the bike at Wakefield Park a week ago to help work on the set-up in preparation for Troy to race, and I was really happy with both the bike and the progress we made. The extra laps are certainly going to benefit for the race weekend, and I’m really looking forward to racing round two on the Panigale FE.”
Troy Bayliss – Image by Rob Mott
Troy Bayliss
“The surgery on my finger was successful, but after trying to ride the bike this week, it just hasn’t had enough time to heal, making it impossible for me to ride at speed. It’s tough watching another racer on your bike, but Mike is a part of the DesmoSport family. He’s riding really well, looked really comfortable on the bike in testing and has given the team some great feedback to keep improving already, so although it’s not an ideal situation, I’m happy to have someone of Mike’s calibre be able to step in for me.”
The season opener for DesmoSport Ducati at Phillip Island was disappointing for all concerned. The team, TB himself, along with everyone involved in ASBK and the spectators.
Troy Bayliss – Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition – TBG Image
Troy worked so hard in the off-season, training off and on the bike in pre-season testing. In the lead up to season 2019 it is fair to say they were better prepared than they were in 2018.
TB was quick out of the blocks at Phillip Island, topping first practice, but then a broken finger on his left hand, followed by a broken finger on his right hand in the opening race, made it difficult for him to operate the brakes properly, and the tough decision was made to park the bike for the weekend. Troy underwent surgery earlier this week in preparation for round two at Wakefield Park on the weekend of March 24.
A full season of racing under their belt, a year of set-up data with the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition and a fit and motivated Troy raring to go suggested that this would be their year. With no points from the three-race opening round though they definitely face an uphill battle from here.
Troy Bayliss – Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition – TBG Image
It was this set-up data and plenty of time on the bike that had seen the team make the decision to race the big L-Twin at the Phillip Island season opener. There were not enough spares and Troy had not enough time on the bike, suggesting that it was very much a different animal than the big twins that powered him to success on the world stage.
There is another hurdle before it can be raced in the ranks of ASBK though. It still needs to be officially homologated by Motorcycling Australia. To satisfy those requirements Ducati, or DesmoSport Ducati, need to supply M.A. with all the necessary documentation in regards to the official number of bikes coming into the country, and confirmation of its ADR compliance etc. As of now, that is yet to have happened.
The team are still not yet in a position to confirm when they will race the new Panigale V4 R at Wakefield Park, but they did uncover the delectable machine in front of fans during the World Superbike weekend. A gallery of images showcasing the new DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4 R can be found at the bottom of this page.
DesmoSport Ducati’s Ben Henry
“I’m really excited to unveil the V4R. There’s been a lot of demand from fans to see it, so I’m glad we were able to pull together as a team, get it done and show race fans what we’ve been working on. We’re not in a position to confirm when we’ll debut the bike on track, but we’re working hard to make it happen as soon as possible. This a special bike, and I’m as excited as everyone else to see it at full noise with Troy in the seat.”
DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4 R
At the bottom of the page find a gallery of images showcasing the DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4R.
2019 ASBK Round One – Phillip Island Superbike Race Two
Wayne Maxwell narrowly got the better of Aiden Wagner at the final juncture of race one after the privateer had virtually led from start to finish. Troy Bayliss had been in that mix before tipping off at turn one, while Bryan Staring had got the better of Falzon, Halliday and Waters to claim the final step on the rostrum.
The riders and the teams would have all learned some lessons in that opening 12-lap bout, and then set about applying some tweaks to their machines. While the riders tweaked their own brain spaces ahead of the second of three 12-lap races that make up the opening round of ASBK 2019.
On the warm-up lap Troy Bayliss felt that the discomfort in his hand was going to make racing this bout dangerous for himself and the other riders, so he elected to park the DesmoSport Ducati for this one and watch from the sidelines. He broke a finger on his left hand on Friday, and suffered injuries to the middle finger on his right during this morning’s crash. He is booked in for surgery on Tuesday. TB and DesmoSport Ducati have put so much work in during the pre-season and will be gutted to walk away from here with no points.
Daniel Falzon again got a great launch off the line but it was Josh Waters that led the field through turn one from Troy Herfoss as they negotiated Southern Loop for the first time. At turn four Herfoss got in a little deep and lost a number of positions as Aiden Wagner moved up to second place behind Waters. Through turn 12 for the first time it was Waters, Wagner, Falzon, Maxwell, Herfoss, Jones and Halliday.
Aiden Wagner moved past Waters to take the lead as they entered turn two early on the second lap and immediately put the hammer down to try and get away from the pursuing pack. A big moment coming on to the main straight next time around though allowed Wayne Maxwell and Josh Waters to slip past Wagner and make it a Suzuki 1-2 up front. Daniel Falzon was right on the tail of that trio as Cru Halliday also then joined the party to make that top five fight a very close affair.
Wagner was back in the lead on the next lap but then got in way too hot at turn four, the two Suzuki riders somewhat baulked each other mid-turn also which robbed them of their chance to take advantage of Wagner’s mistake.
Wagner made almost exactly the same mistake on the next lap, and actually came together with Cru Halliday and nearly fell off his machine, but somehow gripped it haed enough to recover. Halliday had fared worse in the clash, losing a couple of positions and valuable track position.
Daniel Falzon had been in the hunt but fell unhurt at turn ten at half race distance. At the halfway mark of the race it was Maxwell from Wagner and Waters, that trio in close company, while Halliday tried to regain the ground he lost in that brush with Wagner. Halliday had actually set the fastest lap of the race in that first half, a 1m32.669, and had been the only man to dip into the 32s, but he had work to do in order to get back in touch with the leading trio in the closing laps.
Halliday did that work though and with 2.5 laps to go got the better of Waters on the run through MG Hairpin to move up to third place and maintained that position through 11 and 12 and right through to turn one to start the penultimate lap. Nothing separated the top four, they were all in with a chance of stealing victory. Lapped traffic though, and a lot of it, baulked them late on that lap, they negotiated it safely to start the final lap with Wagner leading from Maxwell, Halliday and Waters.
Wagner had the rear of his privateer Yamaha break away though which allowed Maxwell through as they negotiated the back of the circuit.
Aiden Wagner – Maxwell tumbles – Image Rob Mott
Wagner then went up the inside of Maxwell as they neogotiated turn 12, the pair touched, sending Maxwell tumbling through the kitty litter, and was then seen tearing off his glove and looking at his hand as he ran to the pit wall and to safety.
Aiden Wagner – Maxwell tumbles – Image Rob Mott
Thus a somewhat controversial win and early championship lead goes to Aiden Wagner from Cru Halliday and Josh Waters.
Troy Bayliss underlined his competitiveness for ASBK 2019 by dropping in a 1m32.478 late in the opening practice session yesterday afternoon, but this morning at Phillip Island Aiden Wagner went under that marker not once, but twice.
Wagner had been in control of the session with a 1m32.450, but that didn’t stop the Queenslander from lowering the benchmark again with a 32.320 on his final flying lap to really signal his determination to dominate ASBK Superbike on his return to competitive racing in this country.
Aiden Wagner – Image by Rob Mott
ASBK Phillip Island Superbike Lap Records
The current ASBK Superbike pole record stands at 1m32.274 and was set by Wayne Maxwell on a Suzuki in 2013. The current race lap record also belongs to Maxwell, when he was on a Honda in 2009 he set a 1m32.316 to set the race lap benchmark around the circuit.
This mornings session was an expensive one for DesmoSport Ducati. Troy Bayliss made a mess of his 1299 Panigale R Final Edition at turn four, it was big enough for TB to be taken to the medical centre for checks. He has been cleared to race with his main ailment at this stage a painfully sore left hand, which hopefully gets better from here rather than worse. Bayliss was thus 13th in this session but remains second fastest on combined times.
Josh Waters in this session also underlined he is ready for battle. Wayne Maxwell has joined the team this year, and perhaps somewhat unfairly to Waters, it is Maxwell that seems to be the recognised title favourite heading in to season 2019. But this morning it was Josh with the upper hand, a 1m32.659 plays 1m32.788. Many will say yeah well there is nothing in it, but too many forget just how much of a mental game that top level Superbike racing is, and every little chip at your opposition adds up..
After a somewhat disastrous week for the Penrite Honda squad with no end of problems experienced trying to sort the machine they have prepared for their World Superbike wildcard, it was feared their eyes might have been taken off the more important ball, that being the start of their ASBK Title defence here this weekend. Finally some clear air for Herfoss and the squad this morning though with a 1m32.970 confirming their place in the game.
Cru Halliday was fifth quickest this morning, a 1m33.089 certainly competitive for the YRT rider who makes a return to Superbike competition this year after winning the Supersport Championship for the team last year.
Bryan Staring was the quickest Kawasaki this morning ahead of Mike Jones. Glenn Allerton was eighth on the NextGen BMW ahead of Daniel Falzon, the South Australian struggled to find any clear track in that session and frustrated by traffic. Ted Collins rounded out the top ten ahead of Matt Walters, the Cessnock Kawasaki rider the final pilot in the 1m33s.
ASBK Superbike Weekend Schedule
Competitors will be out on track at 1355 this afternoon for a 15-minute qualifying session. The opening Kawasaki sponsored ASBK Superbike race of season 2019 is slated to get underway at 1130 on Saturday morning with the second 12-lap bout scheduled for 1615 Saturday afternoon, immediately after the opening 22-lap World Superbike race. The third 12-lapper will get underway after the World Superbike and Supersport warm-up sessions on Sunday morning at 1030.
Toparis streets them in Supersport
In the Supersport ranks it was Tom Toparis setting the pace. The Goulburn youngster did not take part in Thursday’s session as he has had plenty of track time this week during his preparations for a World Supersport wildcard appearance this weekend. Toparis’ time a 1m35.422, streets ahead of the best of the rest with was headed by Nic Liminton from Callum Spriggs and Supersport debutante Oli Bayliss.
There will be plenty written about Oli Bayliss this year as he debuts in the 600cc Supersport Championship. As reported in our extensive Supersport wrap, at the end of the recent ASBK two-day test young Bayliss was third fastest. A remarkable effort considering his tender years.
Oli Bayliss – Image by TBG Sport
So how did those close to him reckon he went? We spoke to his famous father Troy, and also his new Crew Chief, mentor and as he says ‘new Dad’, the vastly experienced Glen Richards.
Richards has been around race tracks and paddocks for decades and brings a wealth of experience with him as a rider, mechanic, crew chief, rider advisor and mentor.
First up Troy Bayliss
MCNews: How do you rate Oli’s first days on the bike.
Troy: Ollie has now had six days on the bikes and he’s been impressive, getting better and better, and he hasn’t scathed one yet. He’s absolutely loving it, so I’m sure he’s going to learn a lot come the first race. No one wants to show him anything on track, he’s done it all by himself.
Troy Bayliss – Image by Rob Mott
“The only time he’s been with anyone was with me, at Morgan Park to do a few laps. But that’s it, you don’t believe what anyone here in this paddock tells you… You do not. Unless you’re talking to me, I’ll tell you the truth. You have to work it out for yourself, and he’s going to have to work a lot of things out when it comes to the first race. But he’s having a great time, we’re looking forward to seeing how the season goes.”
Glen Richards on Oli Bayliss
MCNews: And Glen can you explain your role with Oli and how it came to be?
Glen Richards: “I’m the new dad now, aren’t I, I’m Oli’s dad! I’m doing quite a few jobs really. I’m looking after Oli, as in a crew chief role, obviously in a small team it’s a hand on job, compared to where I was a crew chief in BSB in the last few years. I’ve got one extra set of hands in Jonno at the track, so there’s two of us. I enjoy that side, I like being hands on, I’m just trying to do the best job I can, in giving Oli as much experience from my point of view, which is obviously always going to be a little bit different to his dad’s.
Oli Bayliss will work with Glen Richards for ASBK season 2019
“Ben [Henry] back at the workshop has done a fantastic job and got the engines working well, Troy has been flat out helping me build the bikes, we only started building the bikes less than a month ago. We’ve done quite a bit of testing now and Oli has done 37s first time – he did 37.4s and last time he was racing he was doing 49s on the a 300, so he’s having a massive steep learning curve. All credit to him, he’s chipped away at it, bit by bit, got faster and faster, as the testing has gone on, so I’m well impressed with his attitude and his ability to work through a little program of testing. At 15 years of age I think it’s amazing really.
Oli Bayliss – Image by TBG Sport
“I helped Alex Lowes with many things, I did three years in WorldSBK and at that stage I had retired from racing, but was still riding the Suzuki as a test rider, and helping Alex at race meetings. After three years of that it was one of those things, he was sort of moving forward with his career, and I wanted to be a bit more hands on, on the bikes, so I became a crew chief in the BSB, where I was working purely on the motorbike with Jake Dixon. Again that was a little team and I really enjoyed that but now I’m back in Australia and I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I spoke to Troy about helping out with Ollie and so far what we’ve done the last month has been a massive job to build two bikes and test, you know in a month, but we’ve done it. Like I said there’s a very good base, with Cube Racing, and the help that Troy has around him, an easy thing to do, to set the 600 team up really.”
Troy Bayliss rode the Ducati Panigale V4R for the first time during a DesmoSport Ducati test at Morgan Park this week.
Troy Bayliss tests Ducati Panigale V4R at Morgan Park
This was very much a first initial shakedown for the limited edition and somewhat bespoke Panigale V4R.
Troy Bayliss tests Ducati Panigale V4R at Morgan Park – Team Manager Ben Henry
Unlike the other 1,103cc Panigale V4 models, the V4R displaces a short-stroke 998 cc in order to meet World Superbike capacity limitations.
DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4R – Troy Bayliss exits pitlane at Morgan Park
The V4R has been built with winning back the World Superbike Championship crown for Ducati as first and foremost in its design and mission statement. The Paniglae V4R spins to 16,500 rpm and makes 231 horsepower with the kit exhaust.
DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4R
DesmoSport Ducati also hope that will translate to ASBK Championship winning performance in the hands of Troy Bayliss.
Troy Bayliss tests Ducati Panigale V4R at Morgan Park
With only one V4R to play with, no spares, and not even any race bodywork, the team will be up against the clock in order to get the machine on to the grid at the ASBK season opener late next month at Phillip Island.
Will we see the V4R or the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition on the track at round one is yet to be decided
The team already know they have a well-sorted and race winning package in the Ducati Panigale R Final Edition, and until they have the necessary spares on hand, are in no great rush to have the new V4R on the grid for the season opener.
Will we see the V4R or the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition on the track at round one is yet to be decided
The team tested a range of new Pirelli rubber this week at Morgan Park, and while they concentrated on the big twin, TB also did turn a few exploratory laps on the new V4R.
Troy Bayliss tests Ducati Panigale V4R at Morgan Park
It was enough to highlight the eventual race potential of the new V4R, but they will need to do a number of long runs on the machine before they will be ready to put it on an ASBK grid.
DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4R
More testing is planned ahead of round one as they evaluate whether they can get in a position to start the season on the 16,500rpm V4R. Or whether it will have to wait until round two at Wakefield Park, or perhaps it might debut in South Australia at The Bend.
DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4R while in the shadows is the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition
Even if fans might not get to see TB race the machine at the beginning of the season, the V4R will still be in the pits and will no doubt get fired up from time to time so you can hear the Termignoni roar.
Troy Bayliss tours the Ducati factory in Thailand
