MotoGP 2003 - Round 15 - Phillip Island - Preview

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss returns to Australia this weekend to contest his first race on home tarmac in 18 months. The hugely popular Aussie, currently fifth overall and top rookie, is joined by team-mate Loris Capirossi, the man who clinched the squad’s first MotoGP victory at June’s Marlboro Catalan GP.

The Ducati Marlboro Team has played a starring role in the 2003 MotoGP World Championship, racking up enough points to put Ducati second in the Constructors’ World Championship standings. Both Bayliss and Capirossi will be aiming for more podium finishes on the Island to further strengthen the factory’s stunning rookie MotoGP campaign.

Sunday’s Australian GP concludes a grueling run of three back-to-back ‘flyaway’ races which has taken the MotoGP circus from Motegi in Japan to Sepang in Malaysia and to Phillip Island in the space of just three weekends. After this event teams return to Europe for the season finale, the Marlboro Valencia GP, in Spain on November 2.

The Ducati Marlboro Team contests its first Australian MotoGP event this weekend, ten months after the squad’s Desmosedici machine underwent its first full tests at Phillip Island. Riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss were bang on the pace in that outing but much has changed since then – the Desmosedici has been substantially developed and the MotoGP pace has got faster and faster.

“We tested at Phillip Island last December, it was our first real track test of the circuit when we did our first race simulations with Loris and Troy,” says Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “Our lap times were very fast, though we were using 2003 Michelins compared to the 2002 tyres that riders used during last year’s Australian GP, so it was difficult to draw direct comparisons. Anyway, we’re confident that we can run a good pace at this track.

“The circuit is unusual – it’s a very flowing, high-speed track with only one area of heavy, prolonged braking, at Honda corner. Most of all it’s very hard on the left side of the rear tyre. The last double left-hander generates a huge amount of heat in the tyre because the bike is at the same lean angle for a long time, with full throttle in fourth gear.

“You need a very stable bike for this track, especially if it’s windy. The wind can be worst on the start-finish straight – as the riders pass the end of the pit wall they encounter strong side winds. You can do a few things to make life easier for the rider in such conditions: maximise stability, reduce the fairing’s surface area by drilling holes in it and lowering the bike. But the number one thing is a good, stable set-up. And, of course, you have to hope that no seagulls get in the way!”

Before competing on the Island, Capirossi and Bayliss take part in a street parade, organised by fuel and lubricant partners Shell Advance, in nearby Melbourne on Wednesday.

“Both our guys are looking forward to racing at Phillip Island – the fans are so appreciative of our sport in Australia,” adds Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “We therefore go into the penultimate race of our first MotoGP campaign in positive mood. Troy can’t wait to race in Australia again, it’s been a long time. He’s got some great memories of this track, and Loris too, he won his first World Championship here in 1990.”

Loris Capirossi comes to Phillip Island aiming for another high-scoring finish on his Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici. The hard-riding Italian has already achieved some remarkable results on the awesomely powerful V4, including the bike’s historic first win, four podiums and ten front-row starts. Capirossi has enjoyed plenty of success in Australia – he won the 1996 500 GP at Eastern Creek and the 1990 and 1991 125 GPs at Phillip Island.

“I like Phillip Island so much, but it’s a difficult track, especially for tyres,” says Capirossi. “But we did a race simulation during our tests at Phillip Island and the Michelins worked well. We also tried many different chassis and engine settings to get less wheelspin, and I think we worked in a good direction. Everyone in the team is working so hard to make the bike better. This is our first year but I think we can be very happy with what we’ve achieved so far. And next year should be even better because we’ll have full track data from which to work.”

Capirossi always looks forward to returning to Phillip Island, for it was here that he secured his first World Championship way back in 1990. That year he won the 125 crown at his first attempt at the age of 17 years old, and he’s still the youngest winner of a World Championship. The win captured the hearts of local Australians – one Cowes pizzeria even created the Capirossi pizza in celebration of the teenager’s triumph! “A long time ago, but it’s still a sweet memory,” he smiles.

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss has high hopes for the 2003 Australian GP. He rode the most crucial races of his career on the Island – the 1997 Australian Superbike round and the ’97 250 GP – which launched his international career. Four years later Bayliss was World Superbike champion and last year he won both races at the Island round of the series. This weekend he rides his first MotoGP race at the track.

“Phillip Island will be the busiest race of the year for me,” says Bayliss. “My plan had been to head back to my home town for a few days after Malaysia, but there’s been too much going on, I’ve had to do a fair bit of press and PR work. I like the atmosphere and I like the track because I like tracks where the racing tends to be close. It’s a place I do well at. It was one of the first tracks where we tested the Desmosedici and the tests went okay, so this weekend should be good for us. I’ll have a lot of friends and fans down there, they’ll make sure I pull my finger out, and I’ll be aiming for the podium.”

Bayliss’ wife Kim will be absent this weekend. She’s at home in Monaco looking after the couple’s third child – Ollie, born on the weekend of last month’s Rio GP – with help from her mum and aunt. “I always look forward to Phillip Island so much,” says Kim. “It’s our only chance during the season to catch up with old mates, but it looks like I’ll be missing it this year.”

The Phillip Island circuit is the second fastest currently used for motorcycle GP racing (after Dutch GP track Assen, another rider favourite) and also demands much of machines and tyres. Its only downside is the area’s unsettled early spring weather that can whip up dangerously strong winds off the nearby Bass Strait.

There are three essentials for a good result at the Victorian state venue: guts, determination and a sweet-handling motorcycle. Most riders count the track as one of their favourites because unlike many modern circuits that have been built to contain the flight of F1 cars, the Island is dominated by high-speed curves that test rider skill and daring to the limit.

Situated 130 kilometres south-east of Melbourne, the island hosted its first motorcycle races way back in the 1920s, when riders competed over a dusty 12-mile street circuit, and the only access to the island was by boat! The circuit fell into disrepair but was redeveloped in the late eighties and hosted Australia’s first bike GP in 1989. Since then the circuit has been renowned for creating ultra-close racing action.