Bayliss shows style

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,,25649061-5012789,00.html

By Mark Hinchliffe
June 20, 2009 12:00am

A ROCK star, champion surfer and two motorbike riders have strapped into the world of V8 Supercars.

While last week's exercise was more about media exposure, one of the participants emerged as a potential V8 Supercar superstar.

Three-time World Superbike champion Troy Bayliss impressed TeamVodafone with a stunning test drive in Craig Lowndes' former race car at Queensland Raceway.

Seven-time surfing world champion Layne Beachley also had a drive in the car, while across the other side of town rock singer Pink and husband, freestyle motocross rider Carey Hart, enjoyed drives in Russell Ingall's Supercheap Auto racing car at Norwell.

But it was Bayliss who caused the sensation in the pits.

TeamVodafone chief engineer Ludo Lacroix said Bayliss was the best driver they had yet officially evaluated.

"He could easily race in the top five of the development series or in the last 10 of the main series," Lacroix said.

Bayliss, who retired from motorcycle racing after winning his third world title last year, was happy with his time of 1:12.6, just moments after Lowndes had warmed up the car and tyres with an 1:11.8.

"First time out was fun. I've always been a big V8 fan," Bayliss said.

"The rest of the day has been like work."

After each timed session, Bayliss headed straight for Lowndes' race engineer Jeromy Moore to study the computer telemetry and seek advice on how to improve his times.

"I'm pretty happy with my times, but it gets to a point where it becomes hard to find that extra fraction of a second."

Late in the day he found that extra speed, tripping the clock at a very respectable 1:11.85. To put that into context, the race lap record is 1:11.0033, set by Garth Tander in 1999.

Bayliss said he was "really serious" about breaking into V8 Supercars.

"I want to leave a good impression. I don't want to just circulate," he said.

"I've ticked all the boxes so far and I've improved. I feel like I'm at home."

Lacroix said motorcycle road racers understood the correct racing lines and had the feel for the grip.

"They also don't like to come off because it hurts so they don't drive silly," he said.

"He now just needs to get his head around four wheels and a locked diff."

Bayliss was invited to test by TeamVodafone principal Roland Dane who owns several exotic sports bikes including a Ducati 1098R and a fully imported Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP race replica.

He said Bayliss was not fully appreciated in his home country.

"We don't realise what a superstar he is," he said.

"In the UK they know him as a superstar. They respect Casey Stoner, but they respect and like Troy.

"For me he became a god when he won the last 990cc GP race in Valencia in 2006."

Dane said the Ducati superstar deserved a go at four wheels.

"It would be nice to see him in the development series but there is a bit more to learn with the H-pattern gearbox," he said. "The sequential in this is more like a bike gearbox, so he should be comfortable with that.

"It would also be nice to see him make an enduro round.

"He just needs more seat time and race time."

Dane said they had already decided their endurance drivers for this year.

Meanwhile, Beachley grappled with the 600 horsepower machine after having competed in the much less powerful Mini Challenge.

"I had a complete brain explosion," she said when returning to the pits after grinding some gears, missing a turn and spinning out.

"Bloody chick drivers. Do I need to go back and get the gearbox? I think it's over at turn four," she joked with the pit crew.

"When you are surfing in shark-infested waters you know they're there, but here you have to deal with gravel pits, gearshifts and sharp corners."

At the Holden Performance Driving Centre in Norwell, Pink and Hart took turns driving in a Supercheap Auto race car.

"I was smooth, fast and picked some great lines," said Pink after her lap around the circuit with Ingall.

"I had an absolute ball out there today and was amazed at how fast the car went – my favourite part was the braking.

"I do most of the driving between us so it was good to take it to a track environment where it is totally different."

Carey was much more serious about his stint and impressed team manager Paul Morris with his first effort in a right-hand-drive car.

"He didn't put a foot wrong," a spokesman said.

Hart said it took a while to get used to the car, but was able to improve as the laps went by.

"The braking and cornering capabilities are incredible; something you can't get the feel for until you are actually sitting in the car," he said.

Hart has been headlining his Hart and Huntington Freestyle Tour which is a free show staged before each of Pink's Funhouse Tour concerts.

The three-hour events include an FMX show starring Hart who pioneered the sport of freestyle motocross and was the first person to backflip a motorcycle.

The FMX stunt demonstrations are accompanied by music, street art, fashion, custom bikes and cars.

The tour comes to the Gold Coast on June 20.