Oli Bayliss broke through for his first Australian Superbike race and round win in Darwin back in June – Image Rb MotoLens
Oli recently turned 18 after breaking through for his maiden Superbike victory in the Australian Superbike Championship at Darwin earlier this year on the DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4 R.
A young Oli Bayliss on the podium with parents Troy and Kim at Portimao in 2008 – Image 2snap
Ducati recently released a 21st anniversary special edition V2 Panigale to commemorate the first of Troy’s three World Superbike Championship victories and it is on just such a machine that Oli will contest the new look World Supersport Championship with in 2022.
Oli Bayliss in action on the DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4 R at Hidden Valley earlier this year where he took his first Superbike victory – Image Half Light
The arrival in Europe of the youngest of the Bayliss clan will be eagerly watched, but Oli has his feet firmly on the ground, is very well liked amongst his peers here in Australia, and I am sure will prove just as popular as his dad was, and still is!
Oli will join Barni Racing’s new World Supersport effort as the long running Superbike team expands into the new look Supersport Championship. Oli’s team-mate will be 20-year-old Luca Bernardi.
Up until now the Supersport class has been bound by regulations to incorporate 600cc four-cylinder, 675cc three-cylinder and 750cc twin-cylinder machines. As the market has so significantly changed in recent years and moved away from the motorcycles that did make up the category, 2022 will see the Supersport class open up to include 955 cc twins and 765 cc triples.
A curious development unfolded overnight with Dorna releasing a statement, which we include at the bottom of the page, that details a decision to exclude all three MV Agusta riders, Raffaele De Rosa, Federico Fuligni and Randy Krummenacher, from the results of the opening Phillip Island round of the 2020 World Supersport Championship.
De Rosa had finished second in that opening round, Fuligni was ninth while Krummenacher crashed out early on in the race.
We reported early last month that Randy Krummenacher had walked away from his contract with MV Agusta Reparto Corse for what the 30-year-old alleged were ‘serious breaches on the part of the company that compromise both the rider‘s performance as well as his professionalism, reputation and personal integrity‘.
Krummenacher also stated that he ‘has also moved to inform the competent bodies, responsible for verifying any technical irregularities.’
MV Agusta put out a tersely worded statement in response to a seemingly snap decision by the Swiss rider to walk away from his contract with MV Agusta Reparto Corse after alleging ‘serious breaches on the part of the company that compromise both the rider‘s performance as well as his professionalism, reputation and personal integrity‘.
Krummenacher also stated that he ‘has also moved to inform the competent bodies, responsible for verifying any technical irregularities.’
Randy Krummenacher
“This is not a pleasant situation and I never wanted any of this. The aim was to fight for the world title once more but unfortunately, the foundations needed to move ahead with the project with MV Agusta Reparto Corse are not there. I have had to take this decision in order to preserve my moral and professional integrity, as well as my safety. Throughout my career, I have always tried to do the right thing, giving it my all in any situation, even the most challenging. But this time there was only one decision I could make. I cannot say more about my motives at this time, but further details will be communicated in due course.”
We mentioned when first publishing those remarks from Krummenacher that you could perhaps read into that what you would, but that reading between the lines one could surmise that Krummenacher was accusing the MV backed team of perhaps not following the rules…MV Agusta then put out the following terse statement, distancing themselves from the team organisation, and strongly denying any wrong-doing.
MV Agusta Statement
MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. had no knowledge of the rider Randy Krummenacher’s decision to terminate his contract with MVRC S.r.l. after only competing in the first race of the 2020 Supersport World Championship.
It being understood that this decision comes as a total surprise to MV Agusta Motor S.p.A., who learned about it through the media. MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. points out that MVRC S.r.l. is a completely independent company which participates in the Supersport World Championship as a private external team.
This apparently sudden decision by the rider was completely unexpected as the company had received no prior warning signs about a possible contentious situation from either Krummenacher nor from the MVRC team.
Following the very encouraging results obtained during the first race of the 2020 World Supersport Championship in Phillip Island, with a front row position on the race’s starting grid, as well as a second place finish by Raffaele De Rosa in the race, MV Agusta was entirely satisfied with the performance and competitiveness of the F3 Supersport bike. Since its inception the F3 Supersport project has brought MV Agusta several vice-World-Championship titles and numerous race wins and podium finishes.
Due to the fact that MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. has no direct contractual relationship with the rider, we will start a comprehensive investigation concerning this matter and reserve any and all rights to take all proper legal actions to protect our brand image and reputation.
2020 MV Agusta Reparto Corse WSSP – Fuligni & De Rosa
And then overnight we receive this statement from Dorna outlining the removal of the MV riders from the results of the opening round. The Dorna statement does not allege any intentional wrong doing by MV Agusta but instead mentions ‘an unintentional engine infringement.’
Decision of the FIM World Superbike Stewards Penalty notice for MV Agusta Reparto Corse team
Following an investigation, the MV Agusta Reparto Corse team’s results from Phillip Island will not stand due to an unintentional engine infringement.
On July 30th 2020, the FIM World Superbike Stewards received a report from the FIM Superbike World Championship Technical Director, stating that some engines belonging to the MV Agusta Reparto Corse team were unsealed without prior permission after the Yamaha Finance Australian Round. This is an infringement of the 2020 FIM Superbike, Supersport and Supersport 300 World Championships regulations and specifically, article 2.3.10 in general and paragraph d.
FIM WorldSBK Stewards understood that the team’s act didn’t occur with an intention to make an infringement nor to gain an advantage in any way. This was more of a visual mechanical check and the result of a miscommunication.
The team brought it upon themselves to contact the FIM about the issue. Nonetheless, the process was not performed as per the Championship regulations and therefore, article 2.3.10.d is very clear and must be applied in any case.
For the above reasons, the Stewards, in accordance to the FIM Disciplinary and Arbitration code, have decided to penalise the team with the disqualification from all events in which the below engines have been used 2 from Randy Krummenacher and 1 each from Raffaele De Rosa and Federico Fulligni.
A curious sequence of events indeed, and one that has changed the results of the Phillip Island season opener and thus the championship points standings. Jules Cluzel is promoted to second in the championship and the riders behind him also gain more points due to the removel of the MV Agusta riders from the results and move up the order.
Toprak Razgatlioglu has proven the man to beat at the Portimao Test as the Turk topped the timesheets for Pata Yamaha. That man Jonathan Rea though and KRT were not present in Portugal, and were instead at Montmelo near Barcelona for their own test session.
Jonathan Rea
“It has been so nice to get this extra day after Jerez, because we got really decent weather, the track was dry and we managed to put in a lot of laps. We were able to back-to-back some items that we were not sure about with the weight balance of the bike in Jerez. In the end we tried something on the front suspension and did some practice starts. The big positive is that I really enjoyed the track and the bike works really well here. I think it sets us up in a good frame of mind now. I feel fast and consistent and this positive test has prepared us to go to Australia, where we will start the new season. Thanks to the team for pulling out all the stops to get us a proper test day here because I know it was not in the plan. Next is the team launch where we get to be all excited about our new colours and then move on.”
Kawasaki Racing Team had their own separate test at Montmelo
Alex Lowes
“I want to say a big thank to KRT for working really hard to get us this extra test. Obviously I have not had too many chances to have dry laps this winter so I really appreciate this extra day at Montmelo. The track is fantastic. It is always exciting coming to a track for the first time. I am getting old now so there are not many tracks I have not ridden! I have really enjoyed it today and I probably learned more about the bike than in the other tests, so that is really positive for me going into Phillip Island. I really enjoyed working with the team and I cannot wait to start racing now.”
Alex Lowes
With KRT absent from Portimao it was Razgatlioglu topping the timesheets from Scott Redding by just 0.079s as the test came to a close.
Scott Redding
“It was a good day even though, to be honest, I couldn’t find the ideal pace. On a few occasions, I found traffic on the track and when I tried the new tyres, the four almost consecutive red flags didn’t allow me to lap consistently. The result of the test is still very positive, considering that this is a circuit where I only rode once in the past and it can’t be considered the most favourable for Ducati. All things considered, we have worked very well and I am satisfied.”
Scott Redding
Michael Van Der Mark was fourth fastest, focusing on conserving tyre life, in a move likely to pay dividends at Phillip Island.
Chaz Davies completed the top five as the second Ducati, with Yamaha otherwise dominating the top five, with three of the fastest five riders.
Chaz Davies
“It’s been a busy couple of days. We were lucky because the weather helped us to carry on our work. We tried new solutions: some of them gave positive results, while on other aspects we will have to work further. The lap-times? We will return to Portugal in September and the track conditions will be completely different so the crono wasn’t our first target. In view of the first Grand Prix in Australia, I feel much more ahead of what I felt last year.”
Chaz Davies
Leon Haslam was the fastest Honda, ahead of BMW’s Tom Sykes and Eugene Laverty.
Leon Haslam
“We’ve made some good steps today and have got through a lot of the things we had down to test. We didn’t perhaps make the step that others did with the soft qualifying tyre, but all in all the lap times aren’t too bad and I was pretty happy with the race tyres. We have a lot of work ahead of us of course and we’re not yet at the stage where we’re fine-tuning the bike, as we’re still testing fundamental components. I can’t wait to get to Phillip Island now, it’s one of my favourite circuits. The test there will be very important too, and then the aim for the race weekend is to try to be competitive right from the outset.”
Leon Haslam
Both BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team riders had two bikes at their disposal, allowing Sykes and Laverty and their respective crews to evaluate more new components and different set-up configurations, working on the best possible basis set-up in time for the start of the season.
Tom Sykes
“I’m very happy with the two tests. Jerez obviously was very challenging on the weather front but we were able to utilise that and do some little fundamental things. It then was much more consistent here in Portugal and we were just able to do a lot of work with our BMW S 1000 RR. We just had to turn a bit of a blind eye to what was going on on track and focus on what we are doing. We worked really hard on different chassis set-ups, on the brakes, electronic strategies… and the list goes on. A big credit to the entire BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, the boys have worked really hard over these days. Now it’s time to go back home and get everything ready for Phillip Island and where we can focus more on performance.”
Tom Sykes
Eugene Laverty
“I am really delighted and optimistic coming away from the test. The November test was a bit of a tough one as I got a few surprises when I rode the RR for the first time. The work that the guys have done since is incredible. That’s the nice thing of being involved with a factory team again: the progress is so quick and these guys are so intelligent. I give my comments but in the end my comments are only backing up what they already know. These guys understand very well how to make the bike work. The focus in Spain had been power delivery and traction control and when we arrived at Portimão, we started to play around with the chassis setting. The performance in the end was really good. So after these tests, I’m very happy, we’re in a good position.”
Eugene Laverty
Top Kawasaki performer was Xavi Fores, but that was due to the Kawasaki Racing Team testing at Montmelo, instead of at the Portimao Test.
Xavi Fores
Alvaro Bautista worked non-stop across both Sunday and Monday in order to make headway with a intense schedule and provide the engineers with as much information as possible so as to facilitate bike development work, and was 16th fastest.
Alvaro Bautista
“These tests have been tough for us because in Jerez we could not test much due to the bad weather. So we had to concentrate all the work here in Portimao, basically trying to complete four days of work in just two days. That meant we were forced to spend more time inside the garage than on track and this of course is a bit frustrating when you just want to have everything ready, put in a new tyre and go for it. Anyway, this is the kind of job that has to be done with a new project. I think we now have a lot of data that can be useful in developing the bike and we’ll see how the next step goes in Australia. Those tests prior to the first round will be very important.”
Alvaro Bautista
The final pre-season tests will take place at Phillip Island, the venue for the opening round in Australia, just a few days before the start of a whole new racing season.
WorldSBK Portimão Test Day Two Unofficial Times
Pos.
Rider
Man.
Time/Gap
1
Toprak Razgatlioglu
Yamaha
01:40.8
2
Scott Redding
Ducati
+0.079
3
Loris Baz
Yamaha
+0.19
4
Michael Van Der Mark
Yamaha
+0.622
5
Chaz Davies
Ducati
+0.795
6
Leon Haslam
Honda
+0.851
7
Tom Sykes
Bmw
+0.982
8
Eugene Laverty
Bmw
+1.186
9
Federico Caricasulo
Yamaha
+1.226
10
Garrett Gerloff
Yamaha
+1.241
11
Michael Rinaldi
Ducati
+1.505
12
Leandro Mercado
Ducati
+1.658
13
Xavi Fores
Kawasaki
+1.998
14
Sylvain Barrier
Ducati
+2.654
15
Pohssom Christophe
Aprilia
+2.676
16
Alvaro Bautista
Honda
+2.755
17
Sandro Cortese
Ducati
+3
WorldSSP
Jules Cluzel leaves the Portimao test as the man to beat in the World Supersport class, closing out the test ahead of Andrea Locatelli and Steven Odendaal, although it bears mentioning it was Locatelli’s first time at Portimao.
Jules Cluzel
Steven Odendaal also worked on coming to terms with the WSSP Yamaha, while Lucas Mahias was the top non-Yamaha rider in fourth on the Kawasak Puccetti Racing machine.
Corentin Perolari made for another Yamaha in the top five on the GMT94 Yamaha, while Philipp Oettl was sixth.
Philipp Ottl
Top Honda was Hikari Okubo in seventh, having made the move from Kawasaki in 2019 to Dynavolt Honda for 2020.
WorldSSP Portimão Test Day One Unofficial Times
Pos
Rider
Man
Time
1
Jules Cluzel
Yamaha
01:44.4
2
Andrea Locatelli
Yamaha
01:44.7
3
Steven Odendaal
Yamaha
01:44.8
4
Lucas Mahias
Kawasaki
01:44.8
5
Corentin Perolari
Yamaha
01:45.6
6
Phillip Ottl
Kawasaki
01:45.9
7
Hikari Okubo
Honda
01:45.9
8
Can Oncu
Kawasaki
01:46.3
9
Danny Webb
Yamaha
01:47.1
10
Jaimie Van Sikkelerus
Yamaha
01:47.4
11
Patrick Hobelsberger
Honda
01:47.5
had their own separate test at MontmeloJonathan worked on balance and overall set-up on his Ninja ZX-10RR machine while Alex learned not just a new track layout but also more aspects of his Ninja ZX-10RR’s character to take into the first competitive round.
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