Bayliss Chucks Away Last Lap Chance To Seal Title
Added on Sunday, September 21st, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
Bayliss Chucks Away Last Lap Chance To Seal Title
Troy Bayliss was moments from winning his third, and last, WSB title until a last lap crash at Vallelunga this afternoon.
Bayliss was right on double race winner Noriyuki Haga’s tail as they entered the hairpin. With Troy Corser having just lost third to Bayliss’ team mate Michel Fabrizio, Bayliss found himself in a position to win the championship. However, Troy Bayliss is 100% a racer and was pushing Haga very hard to win the championship with a race victory and crashed out of the race on the final lap.
Bayliss and Haga had kept the Italian crowd on their feet with an incredible display of close racing. The pair swapped positions, and probably sponsor stickers, in some typically hard fought, high speed action.
Both of the two races of the day featured similar pitched battles as Haga fought like a samurai warrior to secure a well-deserved double win.
Race two was especially exciting, although there was a nasty looking crash at the first turn involving local hero Max Biaggi and former World Supersport champion Kenan Sofuoglu. Biaggi appeared to clip the rear of Troy Corser’s Yamaha as they entered the blisteringly fast turn. Amazingly, Biaggi appeared to have saved it until Sofuoglu’s Honda collected him and the pair tumbled off the track at speed. Despite the ensuing carnage, in which Sofuoglu’s Honda was comprehensively trashed, the race wasn’t red flagged. Biaggi had finished second in race one, behind Haga and in front of Corser.
Bayliss’ crash, and Corser’s two third place finishes, have kept the championship mathematically alive. With two meetings and four races to go Corser could still win the title. But with Bayliss in such fine form and enjoying a massive points advantage, it’s going to take a disaster for Bayliss not to win his third WSB title in what is his final season before he retires.
Troy Bayliss must now go to the next round at Magny Cours in France for another chance to wrap up the 2008 World Superbike Championship.
