Troy Bayliss facts for kids

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Troy Bayliss

Bayliss in 2006

Nationality

Australian

Born

30 March 1969 (age 56)
Taree, New South Wales, Australia

Current team

Desmosport Ducati

Bike number

Website

[1]

Motorcycle racing career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Active years

1997, 2003–2006

First race

1997 250cc Australian Grand Prix

Last race

2006 MotoGP Valencian Community Grand Prix

First win

2006 MotoGP Valencian Community Grand Prix

Last win

2006 MotoGP Valencian Community Grand Prix

Championships

Starts	Wins	Podiums	Poles	F. laps	Points
45	1	5	0	0	288

Superbike World Championship

Active years

2000–2002, 2006–2008, 2015

Manufacturers

Ducati

Championships

3 (2001, 2006, 2008)

2015 championship position

24th (15 pts)

Starts	Wins	Podiums	Poles	F. laps	Points
156	52	94	26	35	2442

Troy Andrew Bayliss (born March 30, 1969) is an Australian motorcycle racer. He is famous for winning the Superbike World Championship three times. He also won a MotoGP race. All his big wins were with the Ducati team. Troy Bayliss ended his main racing career after winning the 2008 World Superbike title. He has 52 World Superbike wins. This puts him fourth all-time in the championship's history. Only Jonathan Rea, Álvaro Bautista, and Carl Fogarty have more wins.

Troy Bayliss's Early Life and Start in Racing
Troy Bayliss's Racing Career
Images for kids
See also

Troy Bayliss's Early Life and Start in Racing

Troy Bayliss grew up in a town called Warialda in New South Wales, Australia. His dad was a baker, and his mom drove a school bus. When he was 10, Troy was already a great motocross rider. He loved riding his bike through the bushland near his home. His family moved to Taree when he was about 11 years old.

As a teenager, Troy's interest in racing slowed down. He started learning to be a spraypainter. He rode his bicycle to work every day. He passed a motorcycle shop on his way. One day, he decided to get a loan and buy a Kawasaki ZXR 750 bike. He started racing again.

Troy won the very first race he entered on his new bike. He did well in other races too. Because of this early success, Troy decided to race in the Australian Supersport championship. He was 26 years old at the time.

Troy Bayliss's Racing Career

Starting Out in Racing

In 1995, Troy Bayliss finished second in the Australian Supersport championship. The next year, he moved up to the Australian Superbikes series. He finished third in 1996 and second in 1997.

His big chance came in 1997. He got to race as a special "wildcard" rider in the Australian 250 Grand Prix. He rode for the Arie Molenaar Suzuki team. His bike was not as powerful as the others. But Troy still finished in sixth place. This was an amazing result for him.

Troy's great performance got him noticed. The next year, he was offered a spot in the British championship. He joined the new GSE Ducati team. He won his first race at Cadwell Park. But many crashes and bike problems stopped him from winning the title that year. In 1999, things changed. Troy Bayliss beat Chris Walker to win the British Superbike title.

Racing in the Superbike World Championship

Troy Bayliss started the 2000 season racing for Ducati in the US's AMA Superbike Championship. But then he was asked to join the Superbike World Championship. This happened because Carl Fogarty, another racer, got hurt. Troy missed the first three races. He had a tough start at his first race in Sugo, Japan. But he still had a good season. He won two races and finished sixth overall.

In the 2001 season, Troy started strong. He finished second in four of the first five races. He got his first win in race 8 at Monza, Italy. He raced very well and won six races. This helped him win the championship title. He beat the current champion, Colin Edwards. Troy won the title at Assen in the Netherlands. Edwards had a problem with his bike. Troy did not score points in the last race. He crashed and broke his collarbone.

Troy started the 2002 season very strongly. He set a new record for most race wins in a season. But Colin Edwards was very consistent. He usually finished second when Troy won. This helped Edwards catch up. Edwards won his second title at the last race in Imola, Italy. Troy crossed the finish line first in race one. But he lost overall because the first part of the race was stopped. This was due to an oil leak from another bike.

Looking back, Troy's team made some mistakes in the 2002 season. Troy got hurt at Brands Hatch when he crashed with his teammate, Ruben Xaus. After a race at Laguna Seca, Ducati changed his bike's frame. Troy felt the bike was not the same after this change. The team only put the original frame back for the final race in Imola. Troy was very fast that weekend.

Racing in the MotoGP World Championship

Troy Bayliss racing in the 2005 MotoGP season on a Honda RC211V

Both Troy Bayliss and Colin Edwards moved to MotoGP in 2003. Troy had more success at first. It was Ducati's first year in MotoGP. Their bike was very fast. Troy finished third three times. He ended up sixth overall in the championship. He even led races for a short time at Philip Island, Brno, and Welkom. He almost won the "rookie of the year" award, losing to Nicky Hayden. His teammate, Loris Capirossi, got Ducati's first win at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The year 2004 was hard for the team. Troy finished 14th in the standings. The bike was very fast in a straight line. But it was hard to control in corners. Troy often pushed too hard and crashed. Because of this, Ducati let him go from their factory team. Many people thought this was unfair. Neither Troy nor Capirossi did as well as they had the year before.

Some people thought Troy was let go because of sponsors, not his performance. They pointed to Carlos Checa taking his place. But Troy was also older than Capirossi. He hadn't been as close to Capirossi in 2004 as in 2003. So some wondered if he still had more to offer the team.

However, Troy had some good results near the end of 2004. This earned him a spot with the Sito Pons' Camel Honda team for 2005. But he wasn't a top contender. He broke his arm badly and missed the last six races. Troy said that MotoGP bikes, especially the Honda, were too stiff for his riding style. He felt they were like smaller 250cc bikes.

After his success in the 2006 Superbike season, Ducati gave Troy a special chance. He got to race in the last MotoGP race of 2006 in Valencia, Spain. This was because Sete Gibernau was injured. Amazingly, Troy started second and led the entire race. Ducati finished first and second. This was the first time a rider won a race in both Superbike and Grand Prix championships in the same year. It was also the first time a reigning champion did it. His big win was a bit overshadowed. This was because of the exciting race between Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden for the 2006 title.

Coming Back to Superbike Racing

Troy Bayliss in the 2006 Superbike World Championship on a Ducati 999 F06

After a difficult time in MotoGP, Troy Bayliss returned to the Superbike World Championship in 2006. He rejoined the factory Ducati team.

He showed great speed in pre-season tests for 2006. Troy was the fastest rider at both Qatar and Valencia. It was even more amazing that he and Troy Corser were faster than many MotoGP riders from the year before. This was despite MotoGP bikes being special prototypes and Superbikes being based on street bikes.

Troy started the 2006 season incredibly well. He led the points table after the first five races. He won seven races in a row and had other podium finishes. He was so good that he had a chance to win the title with three races left. A fall in one race stopped this. But he only needed a fourth-place finish in any of the last four races. Troy won the title at Imola by finishing fifth in Race 1. This was enough because James Toseland did not win. Troy then won Race 2 to make his title win even stronger.

Even though he had a great win in the last MotoGP race of 2006, he kept racing in WSBK. He stayed with the Ducati team in 2007.

On April 1, 2007, at Donington Park, Troy crashed in the first Superbike race. His injury stopped him from racing in the second Donington race. He finished the season in fourth place overall.

In 2008, Troy continued to race for the factory Ducati team. He rode the new Ducati 1098. At the first race in Qatar, Troy won Race 1. This was Ducati's first win with the new 1098 bike. He also won both races at Philip Island. This was his last time racing at his home track. At Misano, he got his ninth podium finish in ten starts at that track. He also won his first race at Donington Park. He almost won the title at Vallelunga, but he crashed. This meant Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga still had a small chance to win. He won the title in the next race by finishing third at Magny Cours. He then won Race 2, which was his 50th World Superbike victory. He won both races in his final World Superbike event at Portimão.

Troy tested a Ducati 1198 in May 2010. He set very fast times. This made people wonder if he would come back to racing.

In February 2015, Troy did make a comeback. He was asked to replace an injured Ducati rider, Davide Giugliano, at the Phillip Island opener. He rode a bike he wasn't used to, the 1199 Panigale R.

Racing Cars

Troy Bayliss also started a new career. He signed up to drive as a co-driver for Triple F Racing. This was in the V8 Supercar touring car series. He teamed up with Dean Fiore for long-distance races. They had problems with their car and did not finish some races.

He also raced as a co-driver in the 2013 and 2014 Australian Porsche Carrera Cup Championship.

ASBK Comeback

When he was 49, Troy Bayliss came out of retirement again. He raced with his DesmoSport Ducati team. He wanted to win his first Australian title. He finished third in the 2018 ASBK season. For the 2019 season, Troy got the new Ducati Panigale V4R. He also changed his race number to 32. But he crashed during practice at the first race. He hurt his finger and decided to take a longer break from riding. He also had metal removed from his foot. Troy had another injury in 2021 after a bicycle accident.