Bayliss still a force -ozzy go- news.com.au

Australian Troy Bayliss might be aged 38 but he proved again he
is well prepared for another title at the world superbike
championship next season.

Bayliss and hometown hero Max Biaggi dominated the
penultimate round of the series at Vallelunga in Italy, setting up a
thrilling finale in France next weekend.

Biaggi (Suzuki) and Bayliss (Ducati) swapped first and second
places in both 24-lap encounters while British championship
leader James Toseland (Honda) wasted another opportunity to put
the title beyond doubt.

Toseland, who had crashed during qualifying, tumbled in race two
while battling with Australian Troy Corser (Yamaha).

He was able to remount and finish in 11th place, meaning he
takes a 29-point lead into the final round over Biaggi, with Japan's
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) the only other rider capable of taking the
crown at Magny Cours.

Earlier in the day, Toseland had increased his lead from 41 to 44
points after finishing a solid third in race one behind Biaggi and
Bayliss, but his hard work came undone when he slid off in the
second round.

"The guys made a great job of rebuilding my number one bike
after the Superpole crash and I chose to ride it,'' Toseland said.
"This was my decision and maybe it wasn't the best decision
because we struggled to get the traction control working. "There
was no improvement from race one to race two and race one was
bad enough - definitely the hardest of the season so far. "Having
said all that, we've come out of today with a 29-point advantage.''

While Toseland continues to grind his way to the title, Bayliss was
in sparkling form at Vallelunga, claiming pole position on Saturday
before sharing the spoils with Biaggi. In race one a fired-up
Biaggi was just too strong in front of 80,000 fellow Italians before
Bayliss countered with a start-to-finish victory, his seventh of the
year. ''

"It's been a really hard day, it's pretty warm out there and
Vallelunga is a very physical track,'' Bayliss said. "In the second
race I wanted to change the rear tyre but my chief engineer
wanted me not to and I went with his decision. "It paid off so I put
that win down to him.'' news.com.au
photos from ducati.com & suzuki-racing.com