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SBK, Bayliss: “The win for Ducati at Valencia? I enjoyed Monza more”

“It was 2000 and I passed four riders at the first chicane. Better to ride a bike than be a manager. My finger? When I took off my glove to give it to a fan, I almost didn’t realize it was hanging off. Redding? He’s going to be good”

SBK: Bayliss: “The win for Ducati at Valencia? I enjoyed Monza more”

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Troy Bayliss is a man who needs no introduction, as he was – and still is – an icon of the Red Army for many a year. The Australian three-time WSBK champion was guest today in the video chat organized by Ducati on its Instagram profile.

For the occasion, the Australian spoke with Ringo, answering the questions of the Italian DJ and those of all the fans who connected to catch up with the legend: "Ciao a tutti, how are you?” said Bayliss immediately. “Unfortunately, we’re not in the middle of an easy situation, we need to go back to normal soon, hopefully we can.”

Then the attention shifted to the bikes:

“I can say that in my career I’ve had a lot of great moments, like for example the wins. For sure my win in MotoGP in the last race at Valencia in 2006 was special, but to be honest I enjoyed the race at Monza in the year 2000. That was a crazy race, I’m sure that the overtaking move at the first chicane will go down in history.”

One of the questions from the IG viewers was about Troy’s favourite tracks:

“I have to say Monza, it has a special atmosphere, like a track from the old days. It was so fast, there were big crowds and when you slow at the chicane you can hear everyone. It was great to race at tracks like Monza, but I didn’t like Mugello, we did too much testing there, while I really liked the old Misano. I also Brands Hatch, Imola where the public are close to the track, it’s very special that you can hear everyone over the bike.”

“I’ve been lucky to ride for the best manufacturer in the world, I made many friends along the way and will never forget it for sure. I think I had a great career and I raced against a lot of great riders over the years, like Colin (Edwards), Noriyuki (Haga). Bikes are still my passion, but I don’t want to be a manager in the world championship. It’s a bit too much like proper work. I like the way I live now, I’m happier than any time, it’s pretty easy, I train a bit, work around the house. I prefer to live the track alongside my son Oli.”

In addition to the victory Troy also had a number of misadventures in his career, the worst of which was probably at Donington, where he lost part of his little finger in 2007:

“It hasn’t grown back that’s for sure, I keep waiting but it’s a bit short. It was at Donington 2007, I was on fire that day, but I was just going too fast and crashed at Coppice. I remember I was in gravel and by time I realized, a little English kid said ‘Bayliss, give me your glove’. I pulled it off and saw I had to go to the Medical Centre because my little finger was hanging off. Funny thing was six weeks later we went to Silverstone and the same little kid came into the box in a wheelchair with a broken leg and wanted to get the glove signed!”

The final comment was about Scott Redding, new entry in the Aruba team:

“He’s going well and is riding for a great team. He went well in the UK, he looks impressive, but he’s not a small guy, a bit on the heavier side. I don’t know how he’s going to go but he will be in amongst the top guys for sure.”

  

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