Bayliss pours cold water on comeback
He will continue to live the quiet life on the Gold Coast after deciding against a return to the paddock
After flirting with the idea of making a dramatic world superbike comeback in 2011, Troy Bayliss has now decided to remain permanently on the sidelines.
Although he's still blindingly fast -- the three-time world superbike champion set the fastest time in a recent three-day Ducati test at Misano to coincide with World Ducati Week (WDW) -- the 41-year-old won't rejoin the title that has made him a legend of the sport.
"The testing's gone really well and… I hope my feedback can help Nori and Michel, but I'm also tired because we've had a lot to do during this edition of WDW, both on and off track," said Bayliss.
"But as I said during Saturday's WDW press conference, I have made up my mind and I won't be coming back to the racing but I will undertake one more superbike test later this year, just before the Imola SBK round, as agreed with Ducati at the start of the season."
Riding a 'development' Ducati, Bayliss was the fastest rider on track at Misano with a 1:35.6, ahead of world superbike incumbents Michel Fabrizio (1:36.0) and Noriyuki Haga (1:36.4).
Bayliss' career included 52 wins out of 152 starts, a remarkable winning average of 34 percent.
He also made a brilliant cameo for Ducati in MotoGP, winning the season finale at Valencia in 2006
(Bikepoint)
