Troy Bayliss launches Ducati Superbike team
Three-time Superbike World Champion Troy Bayliss today launched all-new Australian Superbike team – DesmoSport Ducati.
The brand-new factory supported race team is a joint-venture partnership with Australian racer Ben Henry, whose Cube Racing team steered rising Superbike star Mike Jones to victory in the 2015 Australian Superbike Championship.
The DesmoSport Ducati team will contest the 2016 Australian Superbike Championship and the inaugural 2016/2017 motoSBK Championship with Jones on-board a Ducati 1299 Panigale S.
Unveiling the team at the 2015 Sydney Motorcycle Show today, Bayliss said he was thrilled to be coming back into the championship.
“I am really excited to be partnering with Ben (Henry) in the DesmoSport Ducati team,” said Bayliss “I cut my teeth in the Australian Superbike Championship in the mid 90’s so I am looking forward to coming back and getting involved as a team owner instead of as a rider.
“We will start out with one rider (Mike Jones) and our goal is to expand to a two-rider team for the start of the motoSBK season.
“I am really excited about the future of the sport and I am hoping everything we are doing will help create more interest in the series,” he continued.
The team will be based on the Gold Coast out of Ben Henry’s existing Cube Racing headquarters.
Acknowledging there was a lot of work to do between now and the start of the season, Henry said the new partnership it was an incredible opportunity.
“I am really excited at the prospect of going from a privateer to a factory backed operation,” Henry said.
“This is huge opportunity not only for me personally, but also for the sport.
“We are starting with one rider, we will test the waters and get it right with Mike Jones before we look to expand in late 2016,” he continued.
“Mike is a terrific young racer, he was always fast and with the right people around him he grew this year. He is definitely one of the front-runners and will start the season with the number 1 plate,” Henry concluded.