World Superbike Round 4 Monza

Australian, Troy Bayliss reaffirmed his man of the moment status with an immaculate exhibition of high-speed racing at Monza on May 7. The 37-year-old Ducati rider continued from where he left off at Valencia two weeks earlier, clinching both races on his factory 999F06 to extend his current winning streak to five - and moving himself to fourth overall on the all-time World Superbike victors' list.

"I love coming to Monza and I've got fond memories of the place ever since I first arrived here with Ducati in 2000, but to win like I did today is pretty special," said Bayliss. "I love to do well here in front of all the Italians, there's just something special about the place.

"I've done the double here today and the last time I was here I was lucky enough to get the same result. I think I've got the best team in the paddock and a big thanks to everyone for these wins today".

Bayliss now has 28 wins from 85 World Superbike starts, with countryman Troy Corser (33) and American Colin Edwards (31) just in front of him. On the fastest circuit in this year's champ- ionship, Bayliss won the opening 18-lapper by an emphatic 3.982 sec over Honda's Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda CBR 1000RR), before leading Corser (Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000) to the chequered flag in race two. Race one got off to an unruly start with a seven-bike pile-up at turn one, which didn't involve any of the front runners. However, Steve Martin (Foggy Petronas FP-1) would soon be in the pits with mechanical problems, a travail that would be repeated in race two.

Out front, polesitter Corser, Bayliss, the returning Karl Muggeridge (Honda CBR100RR) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Italia R1) all hit the ground running, while Barros was languishing outside the top 10 after being baulked in the aforementioned turn one mayhem. The Brazilian then began his great leap forward, while Bayliss set about making the race his own. By the time he had eked out a 4.736 sec lead with two laps to go, it was mission accomplished - his fifth win in a row at Monza, which he would extend to six a few hours later. Meanwhile, Barros eventually took the honours in a three way rolling scrum over Corser and Haga, with Andrew Pitt (YZF-R1) making up two spots on the final lap to finish fifth from Muggeridge.

In race two, Bayliss was relentless, producing a race time over five seconds slicker than the first, as well as eclipsing the lap record that Barros set in race one. However, Corser also puffed his chest too, with Bayliss' lead hovering around the 1.5 sec mark for most of the journey.

"The second race was a bit harder, because the guys got a bit of a jump and Corser and Haga made a good first few laps, while I was with James (Toseland) for a bit, and it was difficult to get past," said Bayliss. "Troy and I played a bit of cat-and-mouse but the most important thing was that we got away from Nori (Haga) and it came down to us two in the last few laps."

With Haga in a safe third position, which would morph into his first ever podium at Monza, Barros' spirited joust with James Toseland (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) was a race two highlight, with the veteran finally edging past on the final lap. A few seconds behind, Pitt just got the better of Muggeridge and Kawasaki's Fonsi Nieto (ZX-10R) in a blanket finish.

"It's impossible for me to feel really disappointed today because I know that I rode as hard as I could in both races," said Corser. "In the end, all I can do is my best and that's what I did."

Results
Race 1: Bayliss, Barros, Corser, Haga, Pitt, Muggeridge, Laconi, Rolfo, Lanzi, Nakatomi.
Race 2: Bayliss, Corser, Haga, Barros, Toseland, Pitt, Muggeridge, Nieto, Walker, Lanzi.

Championship Points (after 4 of 13 rounds) Bayliss 175, Corser 139, Toseland 97, Barros 95, Haga 93, Pitt 79, Lanzi 59, Rolfo 46, Abe 40, Nieto 37, (15) Muggeridge 40, (23) Martin 4.