Troy Bayliss said on his Facebook page that he had given up on insisting on a wildcard ride at Phillip Island and Imola because of ‘political’ reasons has touched an open nerve or two at Borgo Panigale.
Ernesto Marinelli, Ducati’s Superbike project manager has publicly gone on the record – at least on the Gazzetta dello Sport – that if the former three-time World Superbike champion really wants it, there will be a bike ready for him at the Imola round.
Will the 43-year old Bayliss actually take part in upcoming round in April or is this some sort of PR pacifier by Ducati to keep fans calm while they try to convince him to change his mind and maybe using wife Kim as an excuse? Whatever his decision, there will be a damn lot of pressure from his fans to take advantage of this opportunity – and we can already imagine the general hysteria in the Ducati grandstand at Imola if he does race, with everyone nostalgically remembering Imola 2002 against Colin Edwards.