News 20 Jan 2015

KTM riders out in force at Troy Bayliss Classic

Bayliss, Crump, Leisk and more fly the KTM flag at Old Bar.

Three-time World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss may not have been able to retire his KTM 450 SMR with another victory in the Troy Bayliss Classic, but its talented rider still put it on top one more time, setting the fastest lap in the final, ahead of American champion Jared Mees.

Mees won the race ahead of Henry Wiles and Paul Caslick, with Bayliss recovering from a terrible start to finish a fighting fourth.

“In the main event I didn’t get a very good start,” said Bayliss. “Then I got hit in the last turn and pushed wide, so I was back in eighth place at one stage. I managed to come back to fourth, and wasn’t far off the leaders, and did the fastest lap of the race at the very end there.

“Earlier I’d been worried about my fitness, because I hadn’t trained as hard this time, but I felt really good on the bike and I honestly wish the race had have been another six to 10 laps longer!”

The Troy Bayliss Classic boasts a star-studded line up of the biggest names in Australian motorcycle racing, with motocross, speedway, enduro, dirt track and road racing riders all coming together for a day of fun and racing.

Bayliss’ choice of machine for the weekend wasn’t one of the newest, but it was one of the fastest. His well-fettled 2012 SMR is the same beast upon which the Taree ace won last year’s TB Classic and an Australian Dirt Track Championship and now it will be preserved.

“Now my bike, she’s moving on,” Bayliss. “I’ll take her home, clean her all up, and send her down to the Australian Motorcycle museum in Nabiac.”

Bayliss has his next dirt track weapon just about complete, a 2015 KTM 450 SXF with all the fruit.

“We’ve been working on the new bike for a while now, and she’ll be a complete weapon,” he added. “Pete Goddard raced it on Saturday and I’ve just been waiting on a few more bits from America to turn up. She’s going to be a bit of a gem, actually!”

Bayliss wasn’t the only legend on a KTM on Saturday, with a number of the sports most famous names from motocross, enduro and speedway lining up on the Austrian thoroughbreds. Three-time World Speedway Champion Jason Crump won the Legends class at last year’s TBC, but a dodgy tyre put paid to his efforts to defend the mantle and he finished sixth.

“I had a good second place in my first ride,” said Crump. “But I just couldn’t get a feel, couldn’t get any rear grip. I had a silly crash in my second race and then after my third heat, before the Americana, I took my brand-new rear tyre out, put a used tyre in, and bang, the bike was away!

“But look, it was another great event, Mees really showed his class and didn’t panic when he didn’t win a heat race all day pretty much. Troy wasn’t going as fast as he did last year, but that means it’s dangerous for those guys who beat him, because he’ll work twice as hard next year!

“It was a good effort by Caso in the Classic, he rode really well on the Husky and showed why he deserves a good bike that. He showed that, even at his age, if you put the effort in you can still get the rewards, so I was really happy for him.”

KTM Australia general manager and former World Motocross vice-champion Jeff Leisk blew off the cobwebs with a fifth in the Legends that included a win in the third and final heat.

“I took a little while to get in the groove, didn’t get good starts in the first two and couldn’t really make much headway, but then I changed some gearing for the last one and that seemed to make the difference,” Leisk said.

“I got a much better start and was chasing Chris Watson and then he ran wide in the first turn. I couldn’t believe my eyes, thought I’d get in there, and ended up winning the last one. It was heaps of fun.”

Other Legends to fly the orange flag included former 500GP rider Peter Goddard (seventh), 1986 Australian Motocross Champion Vaughan Style (eighth), Aussie Enduro and Finke Desert Race Champion Phil Lovett (ninth) and three-time Mr. Motocross Anthony Gunter (11th).

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