Australian Troy Bayliss (Ducati 999F06) may only be one week away from winning his second World Superbike title, following an extraordinary round nine at Assen on September 3.

After crashing out at 210kmh in the first encounter, run in treacherously wet conditions, 37-year-old Bayliss then engineered the perfect comeback to win his 10th race of the year and extend his world championship lead to 100pts (332 to 232) over Briton James Toseland (Honda CBR1000RR).
If Bayliss can now hold his nerve in next weekend’s round at Eurospeedway in Germany, he will wrap up the title with two still rounds still remaining.

“I'm really happy with how it turned out but honestly Assen has always been a rollercoaster ride for me and today was no different,” said Bayliss. “I had a very fast off this morning in the rain but I've managed to increase the points lead and we all leave here very happy this afternoon.”

Bayliss’ vice-like grip on the title was given a shove along by the double DNF of Japan’s Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha YZF-R1), who was the Aussie’s closest challenger heading into round nine.

Haga wasn’t alone in falling off the tightrope in race one – nearly half the field didn’t finish – and in the second he was involved in a Turn One melee that also brought down polesitter Troy Corser (Suzuki GSX-R1000) and Toseland.

Haga crashed two laps after Bayliss in race one, but the Australian reckons all the riders should have been resting in the pits by then.

"In my opinion it should have been stopped because there was far too much rain coming down," declared Bayliss. "In the end I was having trouble seeing where I was going and I went too much on the inside of the fast left down the back and completely aquaplaned. The back of the bike came around, with 210 kmh on the telemetry, threw me over the handlebars and that was it.”

The top point scorer at Assen was Australian Andrew Pitt (YZF-R1), who finished second in both 22-lap races to move up two spots in the championship – from sixth to fourth on 197pts, behind third-placed Haga (230).

Pitt was edged out by Chris Walker (Kawasaki ZX-10R) in race one, who started from last place on the grid but stormed through the field to claim his maiden World Superbike win. Italian Michel Fabrizio (CBR100RR) was third.

“At half distance I really thought that I could have won that second race, but in the end the front tyre was gone and I had to settle for second,” said Pitt. “I’m really pleased with how it’s gone today and I’d like to give special thanks to my team, because they worked very hard and gave me a great bike for the races.

“When Chris (Walker) passed me in the first race I tried to stay with him but I think that I was destined to be second. Fortunately the grip is quite good here in the wet but there were a few parts that were unbelievably slippery, probably from the oil that got spilled in the morning warm-up. You just had to work out where you could push and where you couldn’t and thankfully I was able to bring it home.”

Walker is now the 53rd World Superbike winner since 1988, while it was Kawasaki’s first win since Japan’s Hitoyasu Izutzu claimed the double at his home event more than six years ago.

Meanwhile, after scoring his 37th career pole position in typically free-wheeling fashion on Saturday, Corser’s run of wretched luck continued. He crashed out of the opener after his visor fogged up, and then his front wheel was hit by Haga’s bike in race two, making it impossible to re-join the fold.

“I guess you could say that today was one to forget and the only good news is that I never hurt myself in the two crashes,” said Corser. “The first race started well enough and I managed to lead Bayliss in the wet for a couple of laps. But soon my visor started fogging up and I was having to try and look out of the side of it just to see where I was going! At the kind of speed we were going, that isn’t good enough and when I looked up one time, I was off line and heading into a large patch of water. Next thing I knew I was down and my race was over.

“In race two… I realised that the impact had broken my front wheel rim and damaged one of the brake discs. What a frustrating and disappointing day it has been - especially after taking Superpole yesterday. If today had been dry, I feel I would’ve taken two podiums for sure, but that’s racing.”

By the time the second race started, the track was virtually dry, though there were still a few damp patches waiting to catch the riders out.

With Haga, Corser and Toseland all hitting the deck at Turn One (Toseland did re-mount to finish ninth), Bayliss only had to see off a mid-race threat from Yukio Kagayama (GSX-R1000) to claim victory by the biggest margin this year -- 9.342sec over Pitt, with impressive Spaniard Fonsi Nieto (ZX-10R) third.

It was Bayliss’ 32nd World Superbike win, which places him a clear third on the all-time list behind Carl Fogarty (59) and Corser (33).

Two other Australians scored points in both races, with Steve Martin (Foggy Petronas FP1) 12th and 11th, and Karl Muggeridge (CBR1000RR) finishing with a 9-13 scorecard.

Rookie Josh Brookes (ZX-10R) was as high as fourth in race on before crashing, but then scored his first world championship point with a well-earned 15th.


In World Supersport, 40-year-old Australian Kevin Curtain (Yamaha YZF-R6) now leads the championship by 7pts (151 to 144) over arch-rival Sebastien Charpentier (Honda CBR600RR).

The venerable New South Welshman finished second in the two-part race behind first-time winner, Turkey’s Kenan Sofuoglu (CBR600RR).

In soaking conditions, Norwegian Kai Andersen (Suzuki GSX-R600) made it three different marques on the dais, while Charpentier was fourth.

The second Australian in the field, Broc Parkes (YZF-R6), crashed heavily on lap three while in a commanding lead, but still retains third in the standings on 119pts from Robbin Harms (CBR600RR, 94) and Sofuoglu (92).