Bayliss confirmed for AMA Pro Flat Track

It's a championship that made legends out of riders like Kenny Roberts Snr and Bubba Shobert before they even went road racing, and now Australia's Troy Bayliss is throwing his hat into the ring.

But Bayliss' AMA Pro Flat Track campaign has been turned on its head: he's embarking on it after officially pulling the pin on his world superbike career, which ended after he filled in for the injured Davide Giugliano at the opening two rounds of this year's championship. But that was only a postscript: it was in the nougties where he became a legend, winning three world titles.

Bayliss will run five events on the AMA Pro Flat Track schedule, putting him in the field against the best dirt track racers in the world. He is set to make his debut on a Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati on May 24 at the legendary Springfield Mile in Springfield, Illionois, and will run the four remaining Mile events on the 2015 schedule.
"Dirt and flat track racing are where I cut my teeth as a junior. Everything I have learned on the dirt helped me through my career in road racing and to find myself back where it all started makes me feel young again," said Bayliss. "To race the Grand Nationals will be a challenge, but to compete with Lloyd Brothers Motorsports on the Ducati had to be done.

"Flat track is on the up here in Australia. We have run the Troy Bayliss Classic for the past three years and mixing it up with Henry Wiles, Jared Mees and Sammy Halbert has been great. I really look forward to my time in the US of A."

Top road racers have long used dirt track as a training regimen, but Bayliss has taken it to a new level since his retirement from full-time competition in 2008. For the last three years, he's successfully promoted the Troy Bayliss Classic flat track exhibition in Australia, an event that has attracted top AMA Pro Flat Track riders such as current Grand National Champion Jared Mees, Sammy Halbert and Henry Wiles.

Following the Springfield Mile, Bayliss is scheduled to race the Sacramento Mile on May 30. July 4 and 11, he'll run the Du Quoin Mile and Indy Mile, respectively, before finishing with the second running of the Springfield Mile September 6.

Bayliss, 46, recorded 94 podium finishes in 152 World Superbike starts, including 52 victories. He recorded his only MotoGP victory as a wildcard entrant in 2006, filling in for the injured Factory Ducati rider, Sete Gibernau, in Valencia, Spain. His decorated resume also includes a British Superbike Championship, which he won in 1999.

"Having Troy Bayliss race with AMA Pro Flat Track, at some of our most storied venues, really multiplies the excitement and positive momentum we have as a sport right now," said Michael Gentry, Chief Operating Officer of AMA Pro Racing. "With his own exhibition race, as well as the Superprestigio and with his impressive resume with World Superbike, British Superbike and MotoGP, Troy is one of the motorcycle racing greats.

"Seeing him on American dirt is a mouth-watering prospect for USA race fans. We are looking forward to the excitement created by his presence in our paddock. A lot of work went into making this a reality and we are thankful to David and Michael Lloyd of Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Jim Dillard, Vicki Smith and Ducati North America for their vision, support and participation."