Bayliss' focus

Troy Bayliss knows that he’s got to turnaround his fortunes this weekend after a disastrous start to his WSB title defence in Qatar.

Last weekend the reigning world champion slumped to a fifth and eight place, which was a major shock to the entire paddock due to his brilliant form and dominance of pre-season testing.

He said:”All the testing over the winter has gone really well for us, but you can’t rely on that. You can’t rely on anything you’ve done before or being the champion from last year.

“The racing is different and every weekend throws in a side ball at you. All I’ve got to do now is focus on the weekend ahead which is exactly what I plan to do at Phillip Island.”

Last year Bayliss came out and won the second race after hitting tyre problems in the opener. After testing at the circuit in January he already knows tyre life will be an issue again and predicts a tough two races on Sunday.

“It’s a great circuit and it’s pretty much every riders favourite. It tends to bring out the rider in you so as a result it brings all the riders together.

“As a result I?m pretty sure that there’s going to be four or five guys up front, it’s certainly going to be a tough weekend,” said the works Ducati man.