Starting from third position on the grid for today’s two 16-lap races, Bayliss had to work hard in the early laps of the first race before making his way to second place after being back as far as fifth. Having taken second place on lap eleven aboard his Infostrada Ducati 998F-02, he was able to reduce the margin to Edwards to just 3.606 seconds at the finish.

Race two saw a determined Bayliss being forced wide as he attempted to outbrake fellow Ducati rider Neil Hodgson into the final chicane at the end of lap three and as a result ran across a section of track that had oil over it from a previous race. He was unable to brake sufficiently for the chicane and had to ride through the gravel trap, losing three places in the process of returning to the track. After that incident he was closing on the trio of riders dicing for second place when two of those riders (Noriyuki Haga and Hodgson) contacted each other and ran off the track at the same chicane that caused Bayliss problems. This promoted Bayliss to third behind Edwards and Pierfrancesco Chili at the end of lap nine, but that was to last just a few more turns before he highsided at the left-hander behind the pit complex.

“I had the exact same highside as I did in the free practice session yesterday at exactly the same corner and exactly the same spot,” said Bayliss in reference to his crash. “As soon as I touched the gas, the back came around straight away. I’ve been struggling all weekend with the set up on the bike and it hasn’t felt like my bike all weekend. When it’s like that you just have to get on it and do what you have to do. I could have settled for third, but felt for sure that I could catch Frankie (Chili) and I had so many people getting in my way, it was so frustrating.”

“I went up beside him (Hodgson), but he moved over and I went over onto the oily bit and I couldn’t stop,” said Bayliss about the incident at the chicane. “I was having so much trouble getting passed him, I was so mad I couldn’t believe it, I lost so much time.”

Edwards has won the last seven races and now that he has taken the championship lead away from Bayliss, has set the stage for a final round showdown that will decide this year’s championship. The pair have dominated this year’s championship having won all bar one of the 24-races held this season, with Bayliss taking fourteen victories to Edwards’ total of nine.

“Things have been going OK for us, but Colin’s team have definitely found something lately and everything’s working good for them at the moment. His bike has always been good, it’s just that it’s a bit better now. Actually I’m not so disappointed. I’m more upset about the crash than anything. I’m just looking forward to going to Imola and having a big showdown.

The pair will now head to the final round of the championship at the famous Imola circuit in Italy on September 29, to decide this year’s championship.