2006 SBK CORONA EXTRA WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP Round 2, Philip Island, Australia 5th March

Corser then Bayliss as philip island proves unpredictable hot favourite Bayliss scores a single after unwanted six having dominated qualifying and superpole, and having set another track record best of 1'31.908 in morning warm-up, Troy Bayliss was the hottest favourite for the double win on his home circuit. His lead in race one dropped off to an eventual sixth place, as Troy Corser (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki) took a determinded and committed win, from Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda) and a more distant James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda). Corser crashed out of contention in race two, as Bayliss finally got the much-desired first win of his prodigal SBK season, ahead of James Toseland and Alex Barros.The ups and downs for some of the top riders changed the complexion of the championship table, with Bayliss now in a sigle point lead over James Toseland (75-74), with Corser third on 63 and Barros fourth on 55.

RACE ONE, Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) looked to have the first race trophy in the bag until a mid race loss of foreward drive dropped him down the order at a rapidly accelerating pace. Troy Corser held off the attentions of Alex Barros in the first race of the day, with James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) scoring third place after the long time leader fell from eventual grace. With the return of sunshine , after dull early morning conditions, Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) looked to have the first race in the bag long before the finish, such was his early pace and huge lead at half race distance. He set a new lap record 1'32.402 on the second lap but with his times increasing dramatically in the final third, he was set to finish only sixth. Nor Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) went fourth, with new SBK rider Roberto Rolfo (Ducati SC Carrachi) a strong fifth, after a ride through the field from nineth on lap one. An incredible midfield battle saw nine riders fighting for the points for much of the race, in what was anotherall-time classic event.

RACE TWO, The second 22-lap race took place in similary warm conditions as race one, but with a much warmer track temperature showing up, some riders opted for a harder compund tyre choices. One such was eventual winner Troy Bayliss, fired up by his problems in race one. He eventually passed logtime front leader Toseland with seven laps left, to take a hugely popular win. In third place, Alex Barros survived a scary moment when Troy Corser crashed out of the podium place in front of him, exciting MG corner on lap four, and Barros could not avoid hitting the luckless aussie. Corser escaped without injury, despite suffering a heavy impact on his crash helmet and neck area, plus his torso. For his own peace of mind, Corser has nonetheless opted to go for further checks in melbourne, given his history of internal injuries. In race two Nori Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) took his second fourth place finish of the day beating his team-mate Andrew Pitt, who had finished race one in nint. Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki) slotted into sixth place in race two, after an unhappy race one 12th.

ROUND THREE OF THE WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP GOES TO VALENCIA IN SPAIN ON APRIL 23RD.