MotoGP
Both Bayliss and Edwards moved to MotoGP in 2003, and it was Bayliss who was initially more successful. In Ducati's first season in the class their bike was highly competitive, with Bayliss taking three third places and finishing sixth overall in the championship. He briefly led at Philip Island, Brno and Welkom, and only narrowly losing the rookie of the year race to Nicky Hayden. Team-mate Loris Capirossi took their first win at the Circuit de Catalunya.
2004 was a difficult year for the team however, with Bayliss only 14th in the standings. Despite (or perhaps due to) its prodigious straight-line speed the bike didn't handle well, with Bayliss often over-riding and crashing frequently, this led to Bayliss' subsequent sacking from the factory Ducati squad, a part of which Bayliss had been for five years previous. This move was considered an unpopular one by many, considering that neither Bayliss nor Capirossi were able to perform as well as they had the previous year.
According to some, confirmation that Bayliss' sacking was influenced by sponsorship pressure rather than any performance based reasons was seen in the appointment of Carlos Checa as Bayliss' replacement. However, Bayliss is much older than Capirossi, and had not been as close to him in 2004 as he had in 2003, so some questioned whether he had any more to offer the team.
However, good results near the end of the season earned him a ride with Sito Pons' Camel Honda team for 2005, but was not a frontrunner, despite promising speed shown in his first tests on the 2004 machine and Alex Barros winning in Portugal. A severely broken arm meant that Bayliss was unable to compete in the final six races, had he done so, the season ending Valencian Grand Prix would have been his 50th Grand Prix appearance. Bayliss did give an insight as to his inability to crack into the upper echelons of Grand Prix racing, describing the Honda MotoGP bike and MotoGP bikes in general as too inflexible, rigid, and like a 250 for his style.
After the success of 2006 Superbike, Ducati offered Bayliss a wildcard entry in the final MotoGP race of the year in Valencia, due to Sete Gibernau being injured. Remarkably Bayliss qualified 2nd and led the whole race, which ended in a Ducati 1–2. His impressive victory was somewhat overshadowed by the dramatic events involving Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden that ultimately determined the 2006 title winner.
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