After basically coming out of retirement and proving to the world that he still has what it takes to be a world-class rider, legendary racer Troy Bayliss->ke1495 has officially called an end to his Hall of Fame career. We already knew that at some point, Bayliss was going to hang up his helmet again. After all, his stint as a fill-in to Davide Giugliano at the Australia and Thailand legs of the World Superbike Championship->ke2195 was just a two-time thing so it wasn’t like Bayliss was going to stick around for the long haul.

But now, the 45-year old Australian has, in fact, called it quits, putting a kibosh to growing rumors that he would ride a couple more races with Ducati->ke622 with Giugliano is still scheduled to miss at least two more rounds of the current WSBK season.

None of that matters now though because Ducati is likely to tab MotoGP development rider Michelle Pirro to fill in for Giugliano in the next two races. For his part, Bayliss will ride off into the sunset in an absolute high. While nobody really expected him to win in Phillip Island and in Thailand, his performance in those two races will further cement his status as one of the most iconic motorcycle riders of our time, even if he really didn’t need that kind of validation to begin with.

Happy trails to Troy Bayliss! Motor racing wouldn’t be the same without you but still, thank you for all the exciting memories and for treating us one last hurrah before riding off into the sunset.

Continue reading to read more about Troy Bayliss' official retirement from the WSBK.

Why it matters

I started watching the World Superbike Championship in the mid 2000s when Troy Bayliss was at the peak of his powers with Ducati. In fact, the first three seasons of the WSBK that I followed - 2006 to 2008 - featured two championship-winning seasons from Bayliss, including the latter that was supposed to be his swan song in the World Superbike Championships.

Needless to say, Bayliss was the biggest name back then in the World Superbike Championships and it’s nice to see that his star hasn’t diminished one bit in the years that he’s been retired.

Watching Bayliss race in the WSBK was one of the reasons why I got into watching that sport. His contributions to the series will be remembered for generations and it’s nice to see that we all got to see him ride a Ducati two more times before officially putting his racing gear back in the shelves.

It was a pleasure, Troy Bayliss. Happy retirement and here’s to hoping that your life ahead will be filled with as many triumphs and happiness as the one you’re leaving behind.