Bayliss Misses Top Spot Honours by 0.034s as Day 2 Concludes in Mixed Conditions
Day 2 of Official Testing for the Supersport World Championship delivered a dramatic conclusion at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, with Australia’s Oli Bayliss finishing just 0.034 seconds shy of topping the timesheets behind Spanish contender Jaume Masia.
Unlike the WorldSBK field, World Supersport riders were not afforded uninterrupted dry running. The final session of the day was halted by rain for approximately 45 minutes, with no riders venturing out onto the damp circuit. For the first half of the session, there was no on-track activity as teams waited for conditions to improve.
At approximately 4:40pm, the rain flags were withdrawn and the steady wind across the Island worked quickly to dry the racing line, allowing the session to resume with 55 minutes remaining. Masia had already set an early benchmark before the interruption, posting a 1’32.984 at the start of the session.
Bayliss responded once the track came back into play. With 44 minutes remaining, the Australian surged to the top of the timesheets with a 1’32.559, marking his first time leading the session on Day 2. Masia, however, struck back 10 minutes later, edging ahead by the slimmest of margins at just 0.034 seconds faster. Moments after Masia’s improvement, rain began to fall once again, preventing Bayliss from mounting a final attempt to reclaim P1.
Despite narrowly missing out on topping the two-day test outright, second place overall marks a significant statement from Bayliss as he enters his fifth season in the World Supersport Championship.
Completing a strong showing for Triumph, Bayliss’ teammate Tom Booth-Amos secured third fastest on the combined times with a 1’32.713 aboard the Triumph Street Triple 765 RS, ensuring two Triumph machines finished inside the top three as the field now turns its attention to the season opener.
