IN
THE
WIND
P42
MEES WINS TROY BAYLISS CLASSIC
F
our-time AMA Grand Na-
tional Champion Jared Mees
created more history when he
won the prestigious Troy Bayliss
Classic (TBC) Cup at Old Bar
Raceway, Australia, January 21.
It was Mees' second win in the
event, held at Bayliss' home-
town of Taree on the New South
Wales mid-north coast.
The TBC is a unique event on
the Australian dirt track racing
calendar as the main events are
the Troy Bayliss Legends and
All Stars categories, made up of
36 riders personally invited by
the three-time World Superbike
Champion to battle it out for 12
places in the final.
The annual event has become
a staple on the Australian rac-
ing calendar as Mees, along
with fellow Americans Sammy
Halbert and Henry Wiles, made
their fourth trek Down Under for
the event.
The Old Bar dirt track is short
and quick with a decent lap time
into the 21-second bracket, but
there was an added challenge
for the Americans as dirt track
racing in Australia requires the
use of a front brake.
Besides the event for 450cc
club racers and older two-
stroke weapons, there were
also classes for women and ju-
nior racers. There are a number
of different aspects to the event
as the riders of the Legends
and All-Stars heats do not score
points—rather, it is the fast-
est lap times that decide who
contests the one-lap Superpole
shootout to decide the final 12
grid.
Another feature of the day
is the Americana event, where
the same riders compete in an
11-stage, three-lap knock out
competition to decide the class
podium. Current Australian Su-
perbike Champion Troy Herfoss
took the Americana win from
Mees and Sammy Halbert.
In the main event, Bayliss
started from the outside gate
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
MARK
BRACKS
Jared Mees claimed his second win
in a row at the Troy Bayliss Classic.
