At 39 years of age, Troy Bayliss retired in style after winning a third world Superbikes title, to add to the two captured in 2001 and 2006. And on bowing out from competition, what was one of the first things he decided to do? He asked to pay a visit to Brembo. No sooner said than done...
Arriving in his white Porsche, which sported Brembo brake discs and distinctive red calipers - what else? - Troy was greeted by company president Alberto Bombassei, then visited the research centre and the racing division.
"Very impressive", was the reaction of the world champ when eyes on the Kilometro Rosso. "I've been wanting for years now to come down and see the company whose brakes I've been racing with all that time - said Troy - and now, I thought, after my last grand prix and before I go back to Australia, this has got to be my chance to go and see the place. I was especially interested in seeing those static and dynamic benches they use to run strength and failure tests on products before going into production."
Brembo discs on his race bike, Brembo discs on his private car, and there's more besides, given that team Ducati has always used Marchesini wheels on its competition machines... one could safely say that Troy Bayliss is branded Brembo all over, both on the track, as a rider, and on the road as a driver.
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