Rate it!

9 votes

So Troy Bayliss has bowed out of the World Superbike championship and the world motorcycle racing scene with a perfect record in Portugal.

Pole position, a double race win and a string of fast laps - showing the rest of the field the way to go around a new racetrack - was probably the best way yet to end a career that has spanned GP250 wild card rides, British Superbike titles, AMA outings, iconic MotoGP rides and three - count 'em - World Superbike crowns.

During the on-site build-up for the final round Troy told us that the plan now is for him to go for a long holiday with the family in the Maldives before heading out to their new home in Surfer's Paradise in Australia.

Apparently, Troy will spend time with his family and do all the sporty things you'd expect an Aussie dad with three kids to do.

Then he might try out son Mitch on a bike, just to see if any of the fast genes are evident, before working out what he'll do next.

There are a few WSB tests planned over the winter and next season away from the glare of competition, and there's a good chance that Troy will ride the 2009 bike there, to help out with direction and anything else he can.

Which sounds ideal: it will still let Troy get a couple of days on the booming V-twins every few weeks without the need to compete, and it will give Ducati direct plug-in access to the Bayliss brain - without doubt one of the most devastating and scythe-like in the motorcycle world.

But what will he actually do to get that full-time buzz that racing on two wheels has delivered for the most part of his adult life? One answer might come from the four-wheeled world - in the shape of V8 Supercars.

The V8s are big in Australia. Large, fast cars that deliver consistently close racing and thrills by the chassis-load - and Troy fancies some of it.

It all depends on whether he can find a competitive ride with the right team and the right manufacturer, but if he can't then the V8 series is daft. They won't get another chance to have such a strong motorsport person join them, or to have such a brilliant ambassador for the series.

Plus he's Aussie through and through - and relishes it too.

Bayliss has been something spectacular in the WSB championship: I and many others would love to see him continue going fast with a big engine, no matter how many wheels are attached to it.

One of the most refreshing aspects of the weekend at Portimao was the performance by the British contingent and the markers they put down for the 2009 season.

Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam both showed they had the pace not only to compete, but beat some very regular riders in the big bike class.

Cal Crutchlow was also on fine form before tyres robbed him of a strong showing in race one: it's something of a shame that we won't see him in the Superbikes in 2009 - he is taking a World Supersport ride for Yamaha instead - but he along with the others really shone during the final round.

It is testament to the British Superbike championship that the lads can go out and immediately be as fast as they were at a new track. Level playing field and all that.

Let's hope that things stay strong over the winter and that all the Brits can keep up the momentum. If they do, then 2009 is going to be an unbelievably strong year in WSB - making it probably the best racing World Championship in the world.

Tony Carter / Eurosport