The Ducati Xerox Team riders Troy Bayliss and
Lorenzo Lanzi come to the legendary Autodromo Nazionale di Monza on the
crest of a wave following sensational results in the recent round 3 of the
World Superbike Championship at Valencia.
The 37 year-old Australian Troy Bayliss racked up a full haul of points at
the Spanish Round to increase his lead over reigning champion and fellow
Aussie Troy Corser (Suzuki) to 22 points. He returns to Monza with two
double wins and two fourths already under his belt at the high-speed
parkland circuit.
"Last time I was at Monza I had a double win!" declared Troy. "I'm very fond
of the place and I just love racing there. Out of all the races I've done,
I've done six at Monza and I've always had great results there. It's going
to be very important for me to do a good job this weekend and it's not going
to be easy. Every race is difficult but I'd like to shine there.
"Things are going quite well so far this year, although strange to say, I
feel the season has been a little bit below expectations. Judging how well
the tests went in the winter the first two races were a little bit of a
reality check actually and we expected a little bit more. We've always been
right at the front but we haven't done exactly what we thought we'd do".
His 24 year-old Italian team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi kicked his 2006 season into
gear at Valencia with two gritty races that earned him two third places and
his first podiums of the year.
"The two races at Valencia were very positive, and we came back on form in a
big way" declared Lorenzo. "The two podiums, especially the one in race 2,
gave me a lot of satisfaction. Now we are here determined to do well, just
like in every race, because we know that I can run up at the front with the
leaders.
"Monza is a place that I like, I've always had a good rapport with this
track. The variante Ascari is my favourite point of the circuit, but you
have to work to get a good setting for the entire track because at Monza
it's difficult to get a break and get away. You get the classic group of the
quickest riders, and the second group of those who are unable to keep the
slipstream. I want absolutely to stay with the leading group so as to be
able to fight it out for the win at the end".
Circuit History; Construction of the Autodromo di Monza was decided in
January 1922 by the Milan Automobile Club, started in May of the same year
and the work was completed in a record 122 days. Today Monza is one of the
most functional and safest tracks in the world with a history that is
incomparable. The WSBK round has been held at the Autodromo since 1990 and
Troy Bayliss holds the circuit win record of four victories, on a par with
Carl Fogarty, Pierfrancesco Chili and Fabrizio Pirovano.
