Rossi vs Bayliss

Added on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

Rossi vs Bayliss

Will the duel go ahead?

There has recently been much speculation as to whether Valentino Rossi and Troy Bayliss will finally clash in a one-off Superbike race. The duel has been predicted to take place at the weekend of the second round of the 2009 Superbike World Championship and would see the two prominent riders go head to head.

The rumours of a duel have circulated as a result of Rossi’s challenge to Bayliss, as he told Corriere dello Sport: ‘If there was an opportunity and the right date then I would race there tomorrow’. He followed this up by saying: ‘maybe if I ask him, he might even come back for one race for the challenge’. The challenge by Rossi has not been officially taken up by Bayliss, who has retired following his third Superbike Championship win earlier this year.

Despite the rumours, Xerox Ducati WSB team boss, Davide Tardozzi doesn’t believe the race will go ahead. He has said that although both riders are keen to race one another, the event itself is unlikely to go ahead due to the fact that Ducati will need time and the race may be too close to the Quatar round.

There has been no out and out confirmation or denial that the race will happen, but if it does go ahead it will see Rossi on a World Superbike spec Yamaha R1 for the first time competitively.

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