World Superbike legend Troy Bayliss has announced that he has finally received the motorcycle he has eagerly awaited for two decades since proposing the idea to Ducati. The 56-year-old Australian, known for his extensive career with Ducati in World Superbike, MotoGP, and the Australian Superbike Championship, shared his excitement about the new bike.
Bayliss’s association with Ducati began in 1998 when he first competed in World Superbike races with the brand. He secured Ducati’s first world title in 2001 and narrowly lost the championship to Honda’s Colin Edwards in 2002, only to reclaim it in 2006. That same year, Bayliss made a remarkable one-off MotoGP appearance for Ducati, winning the final race of the season in Valencia.
He raced full-time in MotoGP with Ducati for the 2003 and 2004 seasons and won his final World Superbike title with them in 2008. Bayliss briefly returned in 2015 as an injury replacement for rounds in Australia and Thailand. A passionate motocross enthusiast, Bayliss initially suggested to Ducati management about 20 years ago that they create a motocross bike, and now he has received the Ducati Desmo450 MX, which he shared on social media while unboxing it.
The Ducati Desmo 450 MX features a 450-horsepower engine and a lightweight frame praised by French rider Dylan Ferrandis as the best chassis in motocross. The bike is priced just over £11,000 in the UK. Despite Bayliss’s passion for motocross, he has faced a tough year with injuries, including a broken left ankle earlier and more severe injuries in August, such as broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a damaged collarbone.
Fan Take: For racing enthusiasts, this is a thrilling development that highlights Ducati’s innovation and Bayliss’s enduring influence in the motorcycle world. The introduction of the Desmo450 MX could signal a new era for Ducati in motocross, potentially reshaping the sport with fresh competition and cutting-edge technology.
