Imola honours Troy Bayliss

TALK ABOUT a big Italian honour! The racing city of Imola is to pay homage to Troy Bayliss at the Italian Round of this year's championship, which returns to the Autodromo Enzo & Dino Ferrari for the first time in three years.

On the evening of Saturday 26 September, the three-times WSB champion, who retired at the end of 2008 after clinching his third trophy, will receive a lifetime career award in a special event in Imola's main square.

The event, organized by the city authorities and by Formula Imola, the company that manages the Imola circuit, and with the collaboration of Ducati, will also include the projection of a video documenting the exploits of the Australian rider who won his second world title in 2006 at the Imola circuit.

The evening will get underway with a display of bikes that will arrive in the square close by the event. Entry is free of charge and numerous fans are expected at Imola to celebrate the legendary Ducati champion, who has been a key protagonist of World Superbike over the last ten years. The general public will also have the possibility of visiting the Clinica Mobile, present in the piazza, as well as a special Ducati display area.

The entertainment will end with a concert ("It's Only a Rock and Roll Show") by a group of biker-musicians, including former world champion Marco Lucchinelli on vocals.

Couldn’t happen to a nicer fella.