As Troy himself predicted yesterday, today’s races consisted of hard fought battles. Despite a DNF in Race 2, a third place finish in Race 1 means that Troy has nonetheless further increased his championship lead. Troy now has a 78 point advantage over second-placed man Carlos Checa.

Race 1 saw Bayliss caught up in a fight against Max Neukirchner and Noriyuki Haga, a closely contested race from the start right to the finish line, in which Max eventually prevailed and Bayliss crossed the line in third. In Race 2 Bayliss’ 1098 F08 suffered a technical fault, an engine problem that resulted in oil leaking, and which unfortunately subsequently led to his retirement from the race.

"I knew today’s races would be hard and that proved to be the case. In Race 1 I felt the bike was missing a couple of things and struggling on the long corners but in the end I was happy to take a third place in Race 1. My compliments to Max who takes his first Superbike win, both him and Nori rode a great race and there was nothing I could do to get past them. Race 2? Let’s just say I’m happy to leave Monza with a bigger points lead than I had when I arrived.”

RESULTS: 1. Neukirchner (Suzuki); 2. Haga (Yamaha); 3. Bayliss (Ducati) Race 2 – 1. Haga (Yamaha); 2. Neukirchner (Suzuki); 3. Kiyonari (Honda)

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: Riders - 1. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 194; 2. Checa (Honda) 116; 3. Haga (Yamaha) 112; 4. Neukirchner (Suzuki) 111; 5. Nieto (Suzuki) 107... 11. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 55. Manufactures – Ducati 217; Yamaha 171; Suzuki 158; Honda 135; Kawasaki 44