Cycle News

JANUARY 18, 2014 OLD BAR/TAREE, AUSTRALIA FLAT TRACK P88 TROY BAYLISS CLASSIC (From left to right) Troy Herfoss, Bayliss and Mick Kirkness celebrate their podium finishes in the Troy Bayliss Classic. fought out between him, Bayliss, Herfoss, Kirkness and Wiles. Bayliss took off like a hare in the 21-lapper and Halbert went with him. Bayliss' tactic was clear and familiar: "Ride like it is the last race of my life, and if you can beat me, well, good on you." From the get-go, Bayliss was out of the seat several times a lap, and just managed to hang onto a vicious tank slapper down the straight. He was riding at 11/10ths and looked like a crash waiting to happen. In other words, situation normal. Back in the pack, Kirkness was making up for a surprisingly average start and was slowly closing on Halbert, who was holding a good rhythm as he kept a watching brief on Bayliss. Ten laps into the 21-lap final, Halbert lost the back end in a rut in turn two, handing Bayliss an unassailable and anti-climactic lead. Halbert remounted to finish seventh. The real interest was the dice between Kirkness and Herfoss, the latter wearing down the former to claim a clear second with Wiles fourth. "There was a rut on that corner and I caught it," Halbert said. "The event has been great, and even though [the crash] was a bummer for me, I'd love to come back." After his amazing win, Bayliss declared that he's now won "four World Championships" such was his joy before leading a chant around the crowd, "Taree! Taree! Taree!" Jack Miller was quite brilliant, holeshotting several heats and winning his first-ever race on tar. The mere fact that he was contesting one of the fiercest disciplines in motorcycling raised the obvious question; were his Red Bull KTM bosses okay with it? "Yeah, no problem. Next week I'm flying to Finland with my team boss and doing an ice race." Nuff said. The moment of truth came in the Americana eliminator run over the full Old Bar short track when Miller locked horns with two-time World Under-21 Speedway Champ Darcy Ward. Ward had struggled in the early going, but after ditching his skid shoe and riding more like a dirt tracker, he came to life. The pair was charging into the fast, last left hand sweeper when Miller shot up the inside and wouldn't concede. Nor would Ward. Something had to give and it did. Ward ran off into the marbles on a collision course with the wall. It was a nasty get-off, and after a little concern, he finally sprang to his feet with a banged-up knee. Japanese sensation Masa Ohmori may not have figured in the race results, but he put on a show that will live long in the memories of the Old Bar crowd. Early in the evening, Ohmori showcased his gravity defying skills, pancaking his way around the half-mile course to thousands of oohs and ahhs. Officials had trouble getting him off the track until he finally lowsided in turn one after his foot peg dug in. According to sponsor Graeme Boyd, "I think it's important that people understand Masa's circumstances. He has not raced in two years, partly because of the Tsunami. Some of his family were killed. It just devastated the north region of Japan. Masa is a mechanic and works as a tire changer. He does not come from wealth, and he would love to go

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