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October 31, 2004 |
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MOTOGP - VALENCIA - RACE DAY |
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Ducati Corse Press
Troy Bayliss gave the Ducati MotoGP Team the best possible leaving present this afternoon, scoring a storming podium finish in the season-ending MotoGP Valencia Grand Prix. Watched by 122,000 noisy fans, the hard-riding Australian enjoyed his best race of the season, charging through the pack to challenge Max Biaggi for second place. He eventually finished third, just 3.133 seconds down on winner Valentino Rossi. Team-mate Loris Capirossi, who took third place in Australia two weeks ago, had a more difficult day, finishing ninth.
“It’s really great to finish the season with podium performances at the last two races,” said Ducati MotoGP Team director Livio Suppo. “And I’m really happy for Troy – it’s a nice way for him to finish his time with us. We offer him our best wishes for the future, I’m sure he’ll be a tough competitor next year! Tomorrow we begin our winter development programme, working towards producing a great motorcycle for 2005 with Loris and our new signing Carlos (Checa). They will evaluate the new frame that we tried for the first time during our Phillip Island tests, running back-to-back tests with the existing unit. This has been a tough season for us but we’ve finished on a positive note. Finally, my thanks to everyone in the team and at the factory, plus our sponsors and our technical partners Michelin and Shell Advance.”
Troy Bayliss rode his best race of the year today. The Ducati MotoGP Team man started from the second row, ended lap one in fourth, slipped to sixth, then began a long and determined fight back. The Aussie came on strong around half distance, lapping faster than anyone else on track as he hunted down Makoto Tamada and Nick Hayden. With nine laps to go he was up to third and chasing Biaggi, finally easing his pace to make sure of his first top-three finish of 2004.
“You probably haven’t seen me smile like this for a while,” beamed Bayliss after the race. “It’s been a tough year for me and everyone at Ducati but the bike has come good in the second half of the season. And after we tested some new stuff at Phillip Island it’s felt like a new bike for me. I was a little cautious at the start, because it’s not been my year, so I was a little cautious while Sete (Gibernau) and Tamada were up the inside like crazy. After that it was a really good race. I really wanted to have a go at Max but in the end I thought third was better than putting it in the dirt. I’ve had some great years with Ducati, with some great times together, so it’s nice to leave on a happy note. I wish them all the best for the future; I know they’re going to have a strong bike in 2005.”
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