Report - FG Sport

In front of a record race day crowd, Australian Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and British hard-charger James Toseland (Honda) dominated round two of the 2007 Superbike World Championship at Philip Island today.

The two shared first and second places in the two 22-lap races, and clearly had the most affinity with the 4.445km circuit, bathed in brilliant autumn sunshine.

Bayliss was the master in race one, pushing Toseland aside in the final four laps to conquer by just over two seconds.

It was Bayliss’ 35th World Superbike win, and got his title defence back on track after struggling to find any rhythm at last week’s opener in Qatar.

“That’s the sort of racing everyone likes to see at Phillip Island,” said Bayliss. “It is good to be here and come out on top again.

“In race two, when James (Toseland) put the hammer down, we cleared off (from the other riders) quite fast. We were on the limit and my fastest lap was the last one.

“I threw everything at James but he still beat me… so congratulations to him and his team.”

In race two, Toseland claimed the honours by 0.274 seconds after leading for all but two laps, with Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) third after a thrilling drag to the finish line alongside Max Biaggi (Suzuki) and Australian Troy Corser (Yamaha).

It was Toseland’s first win at Phillip Island, and the sublime victory saw him extend his lead in the 13-round championship to 16pts (90 to 74) over Biaggi, followed by a resurgent Bayliss (64), Haga (50) and Corser (45).

“My bike and tyre set-up was just perfect today,” said Toseland. “I did full race simulation yesterday and no-one came near me, and I was faster again today. But then Troy Bayliss wakes up this morning, he must have had his Weet-bix or something and off he goes!

“In race two, I still knew that I had an unmatched pace, but Troy (Bayliss) was right behind me and I thought I’d get away and then it would be plus one, plus two, plus three.

“But Troy Bayliss being Troy Bayliss, he stuck on me like s*it. I knew it was going to be a slug to the finish, and I just tried to have as much in reserve as I could.”

After two rounds, the unerringly consistent Toseland is the only rider to have finished on the podium in all four races.

In race one, Bayliss, who started from pole position, was forced to adopt a forceful approach from the start, despite a “go-slow” edict from his team manager to conserve tyres.

“James (Toseland) and Max (Biaggi) got out in front and went very hard from the start,” said Bayliss. “I just thought ‘hang on in here and see what you’ve got at the end’.”

The plan obviously worked, with Bayliss celebrating his fourth win at Phillip Island in his last three visits.

Biaggi was third in race one, 10 seconds behind Bayliss, with Haga and Corser fourth and fifth.

Corser was sandwiched between Toseland and Bayliss for the opening eight laps, but then began to struggle with tyre problems.

Bayliss then sensed Corser’s travails and went in for the kill, with the Wollongong rider also swallowed up by Biaggi and Haga in the last three laps.

A small consolation for Corser was a new lap record – 1:31.846, set on lap two. Bayliss previously held the old mark (1:32.402), which he set last year.

Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati), Ruben Xaus (Ducati), Max Neukirchner (Suzuki), Fonsi Nieto (Kawasaki) and Melbourne’s Steve Martin (Honda) saw out the top 10 in race one.

Race two was another classic Phillip Island affair, with a five-way freight train battling at the front during the middle stanza.

However, Toseland’s trigger point to attack was six laps from home, and only Bayliss was able to go with him, leaving Corser, Haga and Biaggi in their own private contest.

Despite a few lunges by Bayliss on the last lap, Toseland’s defence remained rock solid, and he brought up his second win of the year in sensational style.

Meanwhile, fast-starting Ruben Xaus Ducati) was sixth, while it was a blanket finish between Lanzi, Michele Fabrizio (Honda) and Neukirchner for positions seven to nine.

Roberto Rolfo (Honda) was 10th, two spots ahead of Australian Josh Brookes (Honda), who was also 12th in the opener.

Martin retired with 10 minutes remaining.

Round three of the Superbike and Supersport World Championships will be held in Toseland’s backyard at Donington on April 1, the British circuit returning to the calendar for the first time since 2001.