Bayliss back at Winton for first time in 12 years

Troy Bayliss has continued to cast his V8 Supercar net, this time by test driving Rick Kelly’s Jack Daniels Racing VE Commodore at Winton.

Bayliss cut some laps in an evaluation day at the tight and twisty northern Victorian venue, which he last saw in 1997 when he was riding a Suzuki superbike.

By all accounts, Bayliss adapted well to the Commodore, and follows on from a recent spins at Queensland Raceway in a Triple Eight Racing Falcon and Dean Fiore’s VE Commodore.

"It was a great experience," said Troy.

"I really enjoyed driving the Jack Daniel's Commodore, and it was actually my first time with a lot of other cars out on the track.

"I haven't done much in the V8 at all so it was a good experience today.

"By the second stint out there it was not looking so bad and I felt okay. I'm feeling ‘not too bad' in the car.

"Everybody knows what I really want to do. I'm chasing that next step in my career. I'd loved to be involved in the V8s, whether it's in the main game or as a development driver.

"There are so many young guys who probably want to be world champions in their future, but I'm not thinking of being a world champion anymore. I'd love to be in the main game and I'd love to win some races.

"But also I'd love to do the enduros and of course Bathurst is a very big race and something that I've been watching for many years. I'd love to take part in that race and do well in it."

British sportscar driver and endurance specialist Ben Collins also tested at Winton, and he will partner Nathan Pretty in the second Jack Daniel’s car at the L&H 500 at Phillip Island and the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama.

That seemingly leaves Bayliss out of the equation, but national motorsport weekly Auto Action is reporting that he could race at Bathurst with Fiore if sufficient funding can be found.

“The Dude (Paul Morris) called me prior to the test and said we can run Bayliss in the car if we want,” Fiore was quoted as saying in Auto Action. “So we brought him out there and ran him in my car for about 15 laps. He ran in Hercules, which is a Fujitsu car, for the rest of the day. He must have done maybe 50 or more laps in the day. He got down to some really respectable times and did a good job.

“I’m sure we can talk to Troy and calm him down and make sure he does the right thing, but those guys have no fear! Driving around in a V8 Supercar, they’ve got a roll cage around them, they feel invincible. If I can make everything fall into place with him, it’d be great.”