Image: Russell Colvin.

A striking Troy Bayliss inspired livery will feature on the DesmoSport Ducati of Broc Pearson in 2023, with the team officially revealing its V4 R for the upcoming Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK).

First seen on the 1098 that team co-owner, Troy Bayliss raced to two victories on during his final professional round of the World Championship before retiring as world champion in 2008, the design features a mix of red, white and the Australian flag.

“When Ben first told me about Marty’s idea for the bike, I was a bit torn,” Bayliss explained. “DesmoSport has its own identity and its own direction, it doesn’t need to be brought back to my history, but as we moved forward with the layout and we started seeing parts of the bike with Broc’s details on it, I started to look forward to seeing Broc’s reaction to it.

“Now that we have the covers completely off it, I love what we’ve come up with, and that Broc is so excited on it, and I appreciate that the team wants to connect so strongly with my racing.”

Pearson opened this year’s ASBK calendar with the fifth fastest time at the pre-season test at Sydney Motorsport Park, and notched 3-1-2-1 results at the recent Hartwell round at Phillip Island in preparation for the first round of the national championship.