DesmoSport Ducati press release:

DesmoSport Ducati’s Troy Bayliss has once again starred to finish third on the podium in Winton Motor Raceway’s penultimate round of the 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) today in Victoria.

The three-time Superbike world champion wound up P3 in Saturday’s qualifying with a 1m20.333s lap-time, just a fraction off the pole position, which granted him a critical front row start for the pair of scheduled 16-lap races.

Following a restart in the opening outing on Sunday, Bayliss put on a charge and negotiated his way through to third, however yet another red flag ultimately meant the outing was declared on lap 12 and that’s where he would finish.

The second race also saw two restarts in the early stages and, once the final leg of racing got underway, the 49-year-old put his strongest bid forward for second, although he was forced to relinquish the position and settle for third. That landed him the same placing overall.

“It was a good weekend,” recalled Bayliss. “I thought we were in for a bit better of a round, but beggars can’t be choosers! Third overall is a good place, but everyone was struggling with the tyre in some way and we had to go the distance.

“We just have to keep on working, making steps forward. I’m a bit closer to Wayne [Maxwell] for second in the championship and I’m really looking forward to heading to Phillip Island. It’s going to be good and I’m pumped to go back there next month!”

DesmoSport Ducati co-owner and team manager Ben Henry is adamant that Bayliss is on the cusp of victory and believes Phillip Island’s finale next month could serve as the perfect opportunity for the number 21 to earn an elusive overall victory aboard the 1299 Panigale R Final Edition.

“It was good weekend for Troy finishing up on the podium,” Henry commented. “It’s difficult because we’re close – we keep on improving, but in the end the result is similar. We really need to take that step to finish the races that bit better.

“We need to win at Phillip Island and I think we can do that. Troy will be very hard to beat, he loves that place and the Ducati is super-fast. Second in the championship is very important, so that’s the aim now.”

Bayliss holds down third in the standings, only seven points outside of the runner-up position, as the Australian Superbike Championship is scheduled to wrap up on 12-14 October at Phillip Island in Victoria.

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.