Bayliss rules out racing return

Added on Friday, May 15th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

Troy Bayliss has moved quickly to insist that he will not be making a return to racing after helping Ducati with the testing of the Desmosedici GP9.

The World Superbikes champion, who retired at the end of last season, joined up with Ducati test rider Vittoriano Guareschi at Mugello to test Ducati’s MotoGP contender.

The test was Bayliss’ first ever opportunity to ride the 800cc GP9, but the Australian still managed to post a respectable time of 1:54.2 – two tenths of a second faster than Guareschi.

But Bayliss moved quickly to silence reporters keen to begin the “Bayliss to return” rumours after the test, claiming that his focus was very much on putting his feet up back home.

“I’ve had three good days during which I’ve felt like a rider again”, said a smiling Bayliss. “It didn’t take long to get back into it but, before anyone gets any ideas, I will also say that I’m happy to be heading back to the airport and towards Australia and home this evening: I have no intention of returning to racing!

“Having said that, I have had fun and I hope at the same time that I’ve been of use to Filippo (Preziosi). We worked each day on the bike and each day I was able to push harder, until I started to record some respectable times.

“Now I’ll stay home for a while but later in June or July I’ll be back in Europe for a few weeks. I will probably test the bike again during that time, I don’t know exactly when, but I am very happy to play a part in this project!”

Ducati testing boss Filippo Preziosi was also pleased with the results, delighted that the team could call on the experience of Bayliss.

“Working with Troy has been useful because he has a very different riding style to Vittoriano” he commented, “and so it’s been interesting and beneficial to hear his impressions of the GP9 also.

“We are proud to have such a diligent and fast test rider and that we can count on Troy’s great experience to continue to improve our bike.”

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