Photography By Gold & Goose
Yes, it’s true. Three-time World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss is making a comeback to racing as he fills in this weekend for injured Aruba.it Ducati rider Davide Giugliano. With Giugliano having been ruled out of action after a crash in testing on Monday left him with a few broken vertebrae, the Australian agreed to fill in for the one-off ride at his home World Superbike round at Phillip Island.
“I want to start by saying that I really feel for Davide and that it’s a real shame for his season to be starting in this way,” Bayliss said. “The desire to be able to return to the track and see the home crowd and the Ducatisti has always been strong, ever since I last raced. Also Phillip Island, one of my favorite tracks, is celebrating its 25th anniversary of World Superbikes. This gave me the idea to compete as a wildcard and work with the Ducati Superbike technicians once again.
“I know it’s going to be a very difficult weekend, also because it’s a while since I’ve ridden the Superbike, but I do know the track well and so hope to get back into it after a few laps. I’ll try to enjoy myself and will of course be doing my best to score a good result and put on a good show for the public.”
As for Giugliano the team update was that he had left the Alfred hospital Tuesday evening with two micro-fractures of the L1 and L2 vertebrae and wouldn’t be able to return to racing for 90 days. The Italian rider plans to fly home to Italy as soon as possible to undergo further checks and begin rehabilitation.
