Dan Reardon and Jay Marmont will also be sliding at the TBC,at Taree on Saturday,I hope the weather holds off for the event.
Hats off to Troy Bayliss for putting the Troy Bayliss Classic and Moto Expo Events together,he might have retired from full time racing,but he certainly hasn't lost his passion for the sport!
A bit of early history on Troy.I first met Warren(his dad) and Troy when he was about 10(1980/81)they had come over from Warialda(Warren owned the bakery there)to Goondiwindi to have a ride on our Motocross Track.We had just put in some new double and Quad jumps(we had seen some photos in MXA,and thought "we can do that")but no one had jumped them,I can remember Troy checking them out,jumping on his YZ80,and clearing all of them.When he pulled his helmet off he had his trademark wide smile from ear to ear!I don't think he had ever raced before,but he went on to dominate his class in the Darling Downs Motocross Series.
I lost track of Warren and Troy when they went back to Taree,but I saw the 1997 Australian 250 Grand Prix at Phillip Island,on TV,and here was "Troy Bayliss" passing riders on the corners at will,and losing the positions on the straights due to the underpowered bike.Troy was near the front of the field amongst riders fighting for a world title(he finished in 6th),a bit like his first ride at Goondi,he just " went for it".This incredible ride,on an under powered bike,was his passport to eventually winning 3 WSB Championships.
I think his best "just turn up and ride"effort was at the Valencia MotoGp in 2006,when,after winning the World Superbike Championship for the 2nd time,Ducati asked him to ride the injured Sete Gibernau's No 12 bike,he started from P2,was 50m ahead by the second corner,and won the race without being challenged!! Troy was 37, and when asked if he would return to MotoGp,he said he would leave that to the young blokes!He is a pretty good "slider"as well so Good Luck Troy on Saturday!
"Troy's Story" released in 2008,and narrated by Ewan McGregor is well worth a look.
