www.onthethrottle.com

OnTheThrottle.com is going to be using some songs by my (now defunct) band, The Chezwicks, in their roadracing video updates...Here's the first installment. There are two bands used in this vid...we're the one using real guitars and drums. Duh.

Bayliss Pt. Deux

I'm sorry to harp on about this, but Bayliss just completed the first day of his 'test' of a factory Ducati Xerox/xoreX 1198 (R-series) superbike @ Mugello. After being off a bike for over 18 months, Bayliss put in best lap of 1:59.9, which is over 1/2 second (or 6/10th of a second if you want to get all mathematical-n-shit) than current factory Ducati riders Haga and Fabrizio managed earlier this year at a test at the same track

You'll also notice in the pictures (both of which taken at the same test) that Bayliss is sporting 2 different brands of helmets...sorting out a new helmet sponsor?

From WorldSBK.com...Regarding an eventual return to the track for Bayliss, team manager Ernesto Marinelli refused to make any significant comments, declaring: "Hold on, this is an important decision that we will eventually leave up to Troy. It's clear that for him the door is always open".

The next time Bayliss will ride the Ducati will be at Misano during World Ducati Week from 10 to 13 June.

T...out.

Bayliss Back In 2011?

Article by Dean Adams over at the ever-rad superbikeplanet.com

Three-time World Superbike champion and full-fledged Ducati racing hero Troy Bayliss is contemplating a return to World Superbike racing.

Bayliss retired at the culmination of the 2008 World Superbike season with 52 wins and three world titles. His forthright, workingman persona, coupled with his prowess on a Ducati Superbike, made him a favorite of fans from the alleys near the Ducati factory in Bologna to the pit lane at Salt Lake City's Miller Motorsports Park, and all points in between. Now, after a season off from racing, Bayliss says he is mulling a racing comeback.

Reached last night in his hotel room in Italy, the Australian spoke with Superbikeplanet.com about his retirement and unhappiness in leaving racing, which many infer happened a season or two too early.

Asked if, after a full season of not racing, he has come to terms with being retired, Bayliss said in his characteristically blunt fashion, "Not one little bit, not at all."

"All I can say is that I am going back to ride the bike again," Bayliss confessed, "and I am thinking about starting again, honestly."

Bayliss tested the factory Ducati MotoGP bike last season and is, in fact, testing a factory Ducati Superbike today at Mugello. It's clear that his role as a sometimes test rider for the factory has not been enough to placate's Bayliss' competitive spirit and need to win. Perhaps his future is in team management at Ducati Superbike? Bayliss: "You're joking right? I have no interest in being a team manager of any kind. The test riding job is okay but ...".

The triple world champion sealed his WSBK career with a third title in his final season of racing, and left little doubt of his ability right up until the final lap. He won both WSBK legs at Portimao, his then final race. At the time, many of his rivals openly scoffed that he would stay retired for long, with both Ruben Xaus and Max Biaggi saying privately that they expected to see Bayliss back on a Superbike eventually. Xaus predicted that he'd be on the bike and racing in 2009.

"I quit too early," Bayliss said last night. "I'm pissed off because I stopped one championship short of Fogarty and I'm seven wins down on him."

Was this just idle talk from Bayliss? "I'm not joking," he said. "This is basically all I want to say for now. If I do come back, I should be on a Ducati." Bayliss clearly made an effort to clearly form the word "should" when speaking this sentence.

Is the current state of the factory Ducati WSBK team—they struggled at Monza and were not competing for the podium—a factor as to why Bayliss is strongly considering donning his leathers and taking the grid again? It's difficult to know. Bayliss spoke about his old team, saying that they had "hit a rough patch" but that he wasn't surprised that they were under the gun at ultra-high-speed Monza.

"We struggled there in top speed in 2008, so it's no surprise that they did this year," he said. "The bike is lacking a little bit of top end power. I think Monza was one of the most difficult races they'll have this year. The Ducati can still win; we saw it in Valencia where Nori had to come from a long way back."

About the rider who replaced him on the factory Ducati team, Bayliss said, "Nori has always been a rider that's had to build himself up over a weekend and the way qualifying is now (the new SuperPole format) doesn't suit him. I think if he could sort out his qualifying issues he could be winning races."

Throughout his career at Ducati, Bayliss enjoyed a close relationship with Ducati race engineer Ernesto Marinelli. The two worked together when Bayliss set the pole for the Daytona 200 on the Vance & Hines Ducati Superbike and continued that successful collaboration when Bayliss replaced the legendary Carl Fogarty on the factory WSBK team. When Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi left Ducati, Marinelli moved up from the engineering ranks to guide the team. Bayliss didn't vocalize this, but it can't be easy to stand by and watch Marinelli and company struggle.

"I said, let's do a test with Ernesto and the boys and see what we can do, do a race sim (simulation) and let's see," Bayliss said.

Bayliss' often-told story is one of an auto body shop worker, probably too old to race at the world level who proved conventional wisdom and many, many experts wrong by becoming the pre-eminent Superbike rider in the world and a multi-time world champion. What fueled Bayliss' drive through that incredible journey is a quiet confidence and a passion to compete and win.

"I can tell you that I'm looking forward to tomorrow more than any tomorrow since I retired," Bayliss said last night on the eve of his Ducati Superbike test.

MotoGP Jerez - Go Jump In A Lake

As you may or may not know, last weekend's Japenese MotoGP was postponed due the Icelandic volcano known as 'Eyjafjallajokull' (say that three times fast), blowing its ashy load all over Europe and fucking up air travel in the process. This gave the riders an extra week to injure themselves in motorcross and mountain bike accidents. It also gave me an extra week to get a new laptop...someone destroyed my old one.

Qualifying came and went, and is was Lil' Danny (hold the soft egg and pickled onions, please) Pedrosa on pole, with KC Stoner and Lorenzo rounding out the front row. Rossi, Hayden, and some French guy made up the 2nd row. The other Americans, Edwards and Spies, started from 7th and 8th. Go team!

Race day...the riders took the grid spots, a giant flying saucer landed above the starting grid, the 120,000+ fans simultaneously shit their pants, and the riders got their motors running and headed out on the...um...race track. As usual, Pedrosa took the lead into the first corner, followed by Rossi, Hayden, Lorenzo, Stoner, and Spies. Everyone held station for the first few laps, and then Pedro and Rossi put a gap on Hayden and the rest. To his credit, Hayden was still looking strong in 3rd, and had a decent gap over teammate Stoner and JLo. Meanwhile, Capirossi chucked his Suzuki down the road, and Spies was fading fast, until he finally pulled the plug on his race due to a seized tire manifold. Bummer, dude.

At the front, Pedrosa was starting to open a gap over Rossi. While all seemed fine and dandy for Pedrosa, it was his compatriot and Facebook friend, Lorenzo, who was about to take Hayden for 3rd and eventually make his way to the front. Lorenzo quickly went past Hayden and closed down Rossi. 6 laps to go, and Lorenzo smashes through Rossi's dangling Yellow leg and takes the lead into turn 1. 2 laps to go, and Lorenzo is right on Pedro's arse. Lorenzo made his first move on the inside a the end of the back straight, but just smashed into Pedro's rear tire and had to back off. JLo's next attempt came two corners later as he tried to go around the outside. This didn't work, either, but he was successful in again bashing into Pedro and probably tearing off a knee slider and a few sponsors' stickers.

Last lap...JLo lines up Pedro at the end of the back straight, and completely stuffs him into the corner so hard that Pedro almost runs it off into gravel-land. Pedro manages to get his shit together in time before Rossi gets past.

Lorenzo cruises home to an epic win at his home GP in front of 120,000+ apeshit fans. Once Lorenzo crossed under the flying saucer for the final time, he did what everyone who wins their home GP does...parked his bike and jumped into the trackside lake. Excellent.

El resultado de la carrera:

1 Jorge Lorenzo/Fiat Yamaha

2 Dani Pedrosa/Repsol Honda

3 Valentino Rossi/Fiat Yamaha

4 Nicky Hayden/Marlboro Ducati

5 Casey Stoner/Marlboro Ducati

6 Andrea Dovizioso/Repsol Honda

7 Mika Kallio/Pramac Racing Ducati

8 Marco Melandri/San Carlo Gresini Honda

9 Randy De Puniet/LCR Honda

10 Alvaro Bautista/Rizla Suzuki

11 Marco Simoncelli/San Carlo Gresini Honda

12 Colin Edwards/Tech 3 Yamaha

13 Hector Barbera/Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati

14 Hiroshi Aoyama/Interwetten Honda

15 Aleix Espargaro/Pramac Racing Ducati

No está completa

Ben Spies/Tech 3 Yamaha/Broken Tire

Loris Capirossi/Rizla Suzuki/Fell Over

There you have it...Lorenzo takes a 4 point championship lead over Rossi with Pedrosa sitting/standing in 3rd. Hayden and Dovizioso are tied for 4th at 26 points each. Stoner, Spies, and Melandri are all tied for 8th with 11 points each.

Next stop...The French Grand Prix at Le Moans on May 23rd. T...out.