BY GORDON RITCHIE
PHOTOS BY GOLD & GOOSE
I
t was a weekend for heroes - nothing unusual
about that. But a weekend of Super Heroes? Well,
there were a couple of people around who might
have had powers none of the others could match,
and at least two were clad in the leathers that
Superman would wear if he needed any more protec-
tion than merely being the Man of Steel. Of these latter
two, only one was really living up to the "super" billing,
and even he came unstuck at the hands of Brands
Hatch's very own marvel - a manga madman from the
east, who has now won four of the last six Brands
Hatch Superbike races.
Ducati Xerox's Troy Bayliss was the first larger-than-
life character to score a win in front of whatever portion
of the claimed weekend crowd of 115,000 enjoyed
some warm weather and muggy humidity on the grass
banks and grandstands of Brands on Sunday.
Like his teammate Lorenzo Lanzi, Bayliss was attired
in Superman Returns leathers (sans cape, you will be glad
to hear, and with the underpants on the inside), with
similar artwork on his bike, and he scored the race-one
win. He had had the pole position, but he had to work
hard for his win - as it turned out, his only win. It was,
to keep the numbers game going, Ducati's 250th
Superbike win - and it was overdue, since Bayliss
crashed in race two at Misano and then failed to find the
full-pointers at Brno.
In the second 25-lap outing, Yamaha's Noriyuki Haga
prevented Bayliss from doing the double (after a race
that echoed another close battle with another Aussie
leader on the way to a second World Championship last
year - Troy Corser) by beating Bayliss by only .184 of a
second.
In the first 25-lap contest, held in baking-hot temper-
atures, Bayliss had a fight on his hands with Haga until
the Japanese rider was forced back by Bayliss' pace,
while James Toseland improved from fifth on lap one to
score second, some 1.6 seconds behind Bayliss. It was a
real treat for all the Brits in the crowd, but the sec-
ond race would not be so sugar-coated.
"I had a bit of a battle with Nori, but I did-
n't show all my cards," Bayliss said. "I had
Brands Hatch Circuit
Kent, England
Round 8
August 6, 2006
World Superbike Championship
Troy Bayliss is Superman, but so is
Noriyuki Haga at Brands Hatch
Troy Bayliss is Superman, but so is
Noriyuki Haga at Brands Hatch
AUGUST 16, 2006 • C Y C L E N E W S
30
WORLD
SUPERHEROES
WORLD
SUPERHEROES
Race-one winner
Troy Bayliss
(center) is joined by
James Toseland
(left) and Noriyuki
Haga (right) on the
podium.
