Bayliss to Race Again at Thailand WSBK Round

Dennis Chung
by Dennis Chung

Troy Bayliss will continue to race for the Aruba.it Ducati factory World Superbike team, again taking the place of the injured Davide Giugliano for the March 20-22 round at Thailand’s Chang International Circuit.

The three-time WSBK champion made his much-anticipated return from retirement at the 2015 season opener at the his home track, Phillip Island. The Australian showed a bit of rust, having volunteered at the last minute to race for Giugliano. Bayliss qualified 12th and ran in the top ten early in both races but was unable to keep up the pace due to problems with tire wear. Bayliss finished 13th in Race 1 and just out of the points in 16th in Race 2.

Bayliss will lose the advantage of home track familiarity at Chang International Circuit, as will all other racers as the Thai circuit is a new addition for this season. This time, however, Bayliss will have more time to prepare.

“I’m really excited to be able to ride the Panigale R again and I thank the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team for the opportunity,” says Bayliss. “It will be great to work with the team again. Compared to the Phillip Island round, organized pretty much at the last minute, this time I’ve had the chance to train and prepare myself properly. I’m really motivated and feeling ready; I can’t wait to get back on track!”

Chang may not be the final round Bayliss will race in, however. Giugliano isn’t expected to return until the fifth round at Imola, May 8-10. Ducati has not yet decided if Bayliss, or anyone else, would join Chaz Davies on the Ducati 1199 Panigale R at the April 12 Aragon or April 19 Assen rounds.

Dennis Chung
Dennis Chung

Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.

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