Superbike World Championship Return
After a rather unsuccessful journey in MotoGP and a particularly disappointing 2005 season, Bayliss returned to the Superbike World Championship in 2006 and was reunited with factory Ducati team.
His pre-season form in testing for 2006 showed much promise, with Troy topping the timesheets at both Qatar and Valencia. Even more remarkable is the fact that both he and Troy Corser were lapping faster at Qatar than many MotoGP contenders from the previous season, despite MotoGP bikes being purpose built racing prototypes and Superbikes being based on road-going machines. Bayliss' good form, the defection of former GP stars to SBK and the looming capacity change in MotoGP has certainly contributed to the re-emergence of WSBK once again as a contender for the title of the premier motorcycle racing category.
Bayliss started 2006 in dominant fashion, leading the points table after the first 5 rounds with seven consecutive race wins and additional podiums. His form continued to the point that he went into round 10 at Lausitzring with a chance of clinching the title with 3 rounds to go. A fall in race one prevented this, but he only required a fourth place in any of the final 4 races to seal the title. Bayliss duly won the title at Imola with a fifth place in Race 1, which was enough as James Toseland did not win. He won race 2, to cement the title.
Although he scored an impressive win in the final MotoGP race of 2006 at Valencia, he continued to race in WSBK with the Ducati team in 2007.
On 1 April 2007, at Donington Park, Bayliss crashed at Coppice corner on lap six of the first Superbike race of the day. His right hand was momentarily caught under the motorcycle during the crash, and the injury required the eventual surgical removal of a testicle and of the intermediate and distal phalanges of his little finger. Bayliss' injury prevented him from competing in the second Donington race. He finished the season fourth overall.
2008 saw Bayliss continue racing for the factory Ducati team, riding the new Ducati 1098. At the season opener at the Losail circuit in Qatar, Troy won the race one to give Ducati their first win with the new 1098 model. He also won both races at Philip Island on what was his final appearance at his home round. At Misano he took his record to nine podiums in ten starts at the track. Conversely, his victory in race 1 at Donington Park was his first win at the circuit. He came within three corners of clinching the title at Vallelunga, but crashed out at a low-speed corner to ensure that Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga retained a mathematical hope. He clinched the title in the next round by finishing 3rd at Magny Cours, and put the seal on it by winning race 2 – his 50th World Superbike victory. He took a double victory in his final World Superbike meeting at Portimão.
Bayliss tested a Ducati 1198 in a special private test at Mugello in May 2010, setting impressive times and leading to speculation that he would make a comeback to racing
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