Ducati News Today

Ducati have announced that 3 time World Superbike Champion, Troy Bayliss, will test the GP9 MotoGP race bike at Mugello next week, fuelling rumors that the winner of the last ever 990cc MotoGP race could return to racing in MotoGP.

Bayliss retired from motorcycle competition at the conclusion of last year’s World Superbike Championship (where he achieved pole position and won both races) and is preparing for his debut in the Australian V8 Supercar championship. He last raced in MotoGP as a wild card in 2006, winning the final race of the 990cc era in fine style at Valencia.
Now Ducati have announced that Bayliss will test the GP9 racer with a view to improving it, perhaps an acknowledgement of how difficult the bike appears to be to ride for anyone who isn’t called Casey Stoner.

Ducati have just announced that Troy Bayliss is to test Ducati’s Desmosedici GP9 at Mugello next week, at a private Ducati test from May 12th to May 14th. Bayliss is to test Ducati’s MotoGP bike alongside regular tester Vittoriano Guareschi, in pursuit of improvements to the difficult Desmosedici. The press release puts it as follows: “The test has been planned for a while and will be repeated during the year at future official sessions of the Test Team. Ducati can thus count on the feedback of a three times world champion, whose talent and experience will contribute to the continuous development work carried out on the Desmosedici GP9 and GP10.”

link: MotoGPMatters.com

Nicky Hayden is clearly struggling to come to grips with the fiery Ducati and there are rumors circulating that Bayliss could be a replacement for him. However ducatinewstoday believes it is highly unlikely that Bayliss would return to racing and especially not in a class that spurned him following his difficult experiences as a factory rider in 2003/4.

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