DesmoSport Ducati press release:

DesmoSport Ducati’s Troy Bayliss broke through for his first race win since making a return to motorcycle racing during today’s fourth round of the 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) at Hidden Valley Raceway in the Northern Territory.

The 49-year-old three-time Superbike world champion put forward a stunning performance in the Top End, qualifying on pole position with a new circuit best lap of 1m05.601s aboard the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition, setting the tone for Sunday race-day.

Bayliss has progressively gained strength in his comeback to the sport following a full decade in retirement, however that stint on the sidelines did little to dull his desire for victory. And in Darwin, he delivered.

Race one saw Bayliss lead the entire duration for a brilliant win, crossing the line 0.204s ahead of the chasing pack and withstanding all kinds of pressure in the process. He led again for much of the second 17-lap affair, however late issues under braking saw him ultimately fade to seventh.

Still, it was a magnificent result for Bayliss and the determined DesmoSport Ducati crew to capture second overall, climbing to third in the championship standings as the ASBK series reaches its halfway point in 2018. He’s currently 48.5 points from the lead.

“I owe that to our team and all of our sponsors at DesmoSport Ducati!” Bayliss beamed post-race. “It was a big call bringing an old fella on-board, but between our guys – Ben Henry, Paul Free and Byron Draper at Ohlins – they’ve built a lovely bike for me to ride and it’s so fun to ride it like that.

“Race two, it was positive to lead laps in the afternoon again, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be in the end. We still managed to score points though, which was good enough for second overall, and that’s a pretty solid result for us. Now I’m really looking forward to the next round and the rest of the season!”

DesmoSport Ducati co-owner and team manager Ben Henry was thrilled with the performance of Bayliss, confident that he will continue this upswing of pace into the coming rounds of the championship in its mid-stages.

“We’re really happy with this weekend, which started strong and Troy went on to take our first win in a really long time,” Henry commented. “It was exciting to have that happen in race one and, even though race two didn’t go to plan, that’s how it goes sometimes. You can’t ask for much more than pole and a race win, so it was great.

“Today was round four of seven in the championship, so we’re in the mid-point now and are sitting third in the points. You never know where you’re going to end up, this is racing and we will be fast at Morgan Park. Everything is coming together round by round and it’s all good, so thank you to everybody for getting behind us!”

The next stop for Bayliss and the DesmoSport Ducati team will take place at round five of the ASBK to be contested at Morgan Park Raceway, Queensland, from 17-19 August.

Like DesmoSport Ducati on Facebook, Follow @desmosportducati on Instagram and visit www.asbk.com.au for further information. Cube Performance Centre also has an exclusive DesmoSport Ducati section on its website, available to view at www.cubeperformancecentre.com.au/desmosport-ducati.