Bayliss set for V8 Supercar race debut this weekend

Troy Bayliss will become a rookie all over again this weekend when the three time World Superbike Champion gets behind the wheel of a Paul Morris Motorsports Commodore. Bayliss will team up with Dean Fiore in the first endurance race of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Since claiming his third World Superbike Championship less than a year ago, Bayliss has made the successful transition from two to four wheels with test days completed with TeamVodafone, Jack Daniel’s Racing and Paul Morris Motorsports. Bayliss then accepted an invitation to join Fiore for the Phillip Island race and the Supercheap Auto 1000 at Bathurst race.

Bayliss said:
 “I’ve been training a lot to prepare my body for the race and overall I am feeling ready and really looking forward to the weekend,”

“While we haven’t had any testing since last month, I have been using other methods to prepare for the event. The guys have sent me DVDs from last year’s race and I’ve also spent some time with the team practicing our driver changes so overall I am feeling ready.”

Bayliss said that while he will be a V8 Supercar rookie this weekend, he has a lot of experience at the Phillip Island having won both races last time he competed there in 2008.

“I’ve raced at Phillip Island a lot on a bike and overall I definitely think my knowledge of the track will come in handy this weekend as I have a lot to learn throughout the course of the event,”