WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
WORLD SUPERBIKE
BY GORDON RITCHIE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
T
he World Superbike season
opener at Phillip Island was
highly anticipated for two
reasons. Firstly, the series regu-
lars would finally get the chance
to test the latest and fairly com-
prehensive technical rule limita-
tions for the first time in the real
anger of racing. Secondly, there
was the return of Troy Bayliss,
the Prince of World Superbike
racing.
As soon as Bayliss was pro-
moted from Baylisstic Scramble
dirt track racer at Phillip Island
to full-on replacement World
Superbike racer—seven years
after he had retired as cham-
pion in 2008—there was a lot of
pre-match talk, hype and almost
exclusively positive interest in his
return at the age of 45.
But the racing itself, the com-
petition for wins, would be be-
tween the top regulars. This time
around, last season's perennial
battle between Kawasaki and
ROUND 1/FEBRUARY 21, 2015
PHILLIP ISLAND CIRCUIT/PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA
P88
THE NEW
POWER GENERATION
REA AND HASLAM FIRE THE FIRST SHOT IN THE
NEW ERA OF WORLD SUPERBIKE
Jonathan Rea (65)
and Leon Haslam
(91) split wins on
World Superbike's
first outing of 2015.
