A rider who won the hearts of the Ducatisti and the second Aussie to fly high in WorldSBK, Troy had a less than lucky time in the world championship but it ended with that crazy 2006 Valencia win aboard the Desmosedici GP6, a &lsquo;prize&rsquo; for having won his second WorldSBK title.  Today, Troy Bayliss is a Ducati ambassador and co-owner of the DesmoSport team in ASBK, a team that has been clocking up national titles and that, this season, will field Troy&#39;s son Oli aboard the Panigale V4R.  The early days and the BSB title   Born in Taree on 30 March 1969, Troy&#39;s career was slow to start. He had to start working as a body shop mechanic to make the money to race. In &rsquo;92, at the &lsquo;tender&rsquo; age of 23, he returned to racing after having abandoned it due to a lack of funds. He entered the Australian 250SP championship with a Kawasaki before moving to the 600 class in &lsquo;93.  From &lsquo;94 to &lsquo;95 he competed in the Aussie 600 championship and then moved to Superbike the following year, riding the factory Kawasaki and finishing third overall. This result earned him a wildcard entry in the &lsquo;97 WorldSBK round in his native Australia, where he scored two fifth-place finishes at 28 years of age.  He also competed in the Australian 250 world championship round with a Suzuki, crossing the line sixth.  Age not on his side, the BSB series opened its doors to him. Troy moved to the UK in &rsquo;98 and raced team GSE&rsquo;s Ducati 996. He finished the season eighth overall, enough to be reconfirmed. The Aussie then dominated the 1999 season, scoring seven wins and fourteen podiums to secure the British title.  AMA Superbike and his first world championship stint   His BSB title was enough for Ducati to hire him in 2000. Before fielding him in WorldSBK, Ducati decided to enter him in the American Superbike series with team Vance &amp; Hines. His adventure began with pole in the prestigious Daytona 200, although he was forced to retire from the race when his engine broke. Meanwhile, in WorldSBK, Ducati had a serious problem, as Fogarty&rsquo;s injury in Australia had ruled him out of the title race. Tardozzi and Ciabatti made an urgent call and brought Troy from America to Japan. His debut at Sugo was nothing to write home about, a double DNF in fact. And so Troy returned to America. While Luca Cadalora was brought in for the Donington round, Bayliss was back on board for Ducati&rsquo;s home round of Monza.  The Monza &ldquo;Monster Brake&rdquo;   Bayliss&rsquo; second Superbike chance came at Monza. Troy didn&rsquo;t know the track, the bike, the tyres or the Superpole format, but he was nevertheless able to pull out two fourth-place finishes in the races. The highlight of the round was his exceptional braking that took him from fifth to first after the Prima Variante.  That double fourth was enough for Ducati management to confirm Bayliss for the rest of the season. He scored two wins, at Hockenheim and Brands Hatch, as well as seven additional podiums, to close sixth overall with 243 points.  In 2001 he started the year as the Ducati Infostrada team&rsquo;s main rider alongside Ruben Xaus. Troy had a spectacular season, amassing six wins, fifteen podiums and a first world title. He then dominated the first part of 2002, winning 14 of 18 races. But after the Suzuka 8 Hours, Colin Edwards didn&rsquo;t put a foot wrong while Bayliss suffered a serious setback, forced to retire in race 2 at Assen. Troy finishes the season as runner-up, with 541 points, 11 points behind eventual winner Edwards.  250, MotoGP and the 2006 Valencia win   Having had a taste of the world championship in 97, Troy returned to MotoGP with Ducati in 2003, alongside Loris Capirossi. He scored three podiums and nine top-ten finishes to close sixth overall, with 128 points.  The 2004 season was very difficult for Bayliss, the Desmosedici GP4 proving unmanagable. The Australian only completed half of the races, scoring just one podium at season finale Valencia. He finished the year in 14th place with 71 points.  In 2005 Ducati opted for Carlos Checa and Troy moved to Sito Pons&rsquo; Camel Honda team. His season concluded ahead of time when he fractured his wrist while training. 15th place overall for him that season, with 54 points.  He was back in MotoGP in 2006 for the final Valencia round, a prize for having won the 2006 WorldSBK title with Ducati. This was to be Troy&#39;s first and only MotoGP win, the Aussie dominating the race ahead of team-mate Capirossi, on the day Hayden won the title.  The second &ldquo;stint&rdquo; in Superbike: the 2006 and 2008 titles and retirement   In 2006 Troy returned to Superbike with Ducati and the 999F06 bike, which had already won in 2003 and 2004 with Hodgson and Toseland but struggled against the Honda and Suzuki four-cylinders in 2005. He had an incredible season, scoring twelve wins, sixteen podiums in all, and securing his second world title, three races ahead of schedule.  2007 was a photocopy of 2005, the 999 having reached the end of its development. Troy gave it his all (even a fingertip) as he tried to stick with the very fast Hondas, Yamahas and Suzukis. Despite the Donington crash, after which he had his finger amputated so as to be able to compete at the next round of Valencia, Troy had a solid season, scoring six wins and thirteen podiums in all. He finished the year fourth with 372 points, 43 points behind champion Toseland.  Over the winter of 2007, Troy announced that 2008 would be his final season. Ducati presented the 1098, the weapon with which Bayliss would attempt to secure a third title. He started the year with five wins across the first four rounds. The year was not without its setbacks, with five zeros in all, but despite this, Troy was soon celebrating his third world title at the penultimate French round, while the Portimao season finale saw him round out the year with a double win.  Bayliss retired from the Superbike championship with three world titles, 52 race wins and 94 podiums in 156 races.&nbsp;  Recent years   Having hung up his helmet, Troy continued on as a Ducati test rider, taking to the track with new WorldSBK modes and serving as a global Ducati ambassador.  In 2015 the factory Aruba Ducati team called on him to replace injured Davide Giugliano for the SBK rounds in Australia and Thailand. He scored 15 points across the four races, the points scored in race 1 in Australia making him the second oldest rider to have earned Superbike points, at the age of 45, 10 months and 8 days, behind only Frantisek Mrazek who scored points at Mosport in 91 at the age of 55 and 25 days.  After race 2 at Buriram, Troy announced his definitive retirement from WorldSBK, but he did compete in the 2018 ASBK championship.  Translated by Heather Watson  Troy Bayliss: &ldquo;MotoGP is becoming more like Moto3&rdquo;  As of 2016, he is active with Ducati in ASBK as the co-owner of team DesmoSport. 

Following on from Corser and Vermeulen, here&rsquo;s another member of the &ldquo;Australian Collective&rdquo; or rather the most successful Australian WorldSBK rider, who cut off his finger to continue racing and won the final MotoGP race of 2006 with Ducati

Whatever happened to: Troy Bayliss

        Sharing a homeland with the likes of Doohan, Corser, Bayliss, Stoner, Pitt, and Muggeridge, Australian rider Chris Vermeulen began his motorcycle career in WorldSBK, before moving to the MotoGP world championship and even winning a race, at a wet Le Mans in 2007 with Suzuki. Chris is now a great commentator for Fox Sports Australia and collaborates with the Phillip Island circuit after having interviewed the king, or rather fellow countryman Casey Stoner. Early days and Barry Sheene&rsquo;s advice  Born in Brisbane to Dutch parents on 19 June 1982, Chris started out riding MX and dirt track, winning championships in Queensland and New South Wales. In 1998 he made his move from dirt to track, competing in the Australian 250 championship and scoring his first wins. That same year, he also tested a Supersport 600. The test convinced him to race in the Australian Superbike championship, where he proved to the best privateer in 1999. Also in &lsquo;99, a certain Barry Sheene, who had moved to Australia a few years earlier, noticed him and advised him to move to Europe. Chris travelled to the UK where he competed in the Supersport and Superstock categories of the British Superbike series. Supersport and the 2003 world championship  Having moved to Europe for the 2000 season, Vermeulen made an impression in the British Supersport championship. The Castrol Honda team then asked him to stand in for Japanese rider Shinya Takeishi for the last rounds of the year. Chris scored 16 points in three races, with a best result of sixth at Assen. This was enough to convince Honda to hire him for the following season. 2001 proved quite problematic though, the rider closing 17th with 27 points. In 2002, he moved to the Van-Zon-TKR team, and rounded out the season seventh, having scored 90 points, a pole position and his first world championship podium. His best season came in 2003 when he moved to Ten Kate. He secured his first and only world title, with 201 points, four race wins and eight podiums. The call to Superbike  The Supersport champion deserved to move to Superbike and did just that with team Ten Kate in 2004. He made something of a slow start as he adapted to the class and bike, the new CBR1000RR. The first part of the season saw him score two podiums, in his native Australia. At Silverstone, he reached the podium in race 1 before winning race 2, and then won both races at Laguna Seca, a track he&rsquo;d never seen before. After a podium at Brands Hatch, Chris also won race 2 at Assen, and found himself in the mix for the title along with the two factory Ducatis of Laconi and Toseland. Imola proved to be the weekend of truth for Vermeulen and the Honda. During the race 1 sighting lap, he slipped on oil spilt by Bussei and suffered various fractures. Despite his injuries, he accomplished an incredible feat, starting the race from the pit lane and crossing the line second. He closed race 2 in sixth place. He finished the season fourth overall after a double DNF at Magny Cours. This experience meant he came back stronger in 2005, more than ready to fight. Unfortunately, there wasn&rsquo;t much he could do against the Suzuki GSX-R K5 of his fellow countryman Troy Corser. Vermeulen didn&rsquo;t give up and scored six wins and fourteen podiums in all, enough to secure the runner-up spot come the end of the year. MotoGP and the Le Mans feat  That particular result in Superbike led to a call from MotoGP, where Chris stood in for Troy Bayliss on the Camel Honda for the last races of 2005. He finished the season 21st overall with 10 points, having finished eleventh in both Australia and Turkey. He moved to Suzuki in 2006, alongside re-confirmed Hopkins. He achieved two poles, in Turkey and Laguna Seca, finished second in what was a crazy Australian race, and rounded out the season eleventh overall, with 98 points. He continued with Suzuki in 2007. The bikes now had 800 cc engines and the GSV-R was well balanced, also thanks to the Bridgestone tyres. He scored his one and only race win at Le Mans, in the rain, closing the season in sixth place overall with 179 points and a further three podiums. His 2008 didn&rsquo;t start in the best way, Vermeulen placing 17th in Qatar before scoring two top ten finishes followed by a DNF in China. From there, he was consistent, scoring two podiums in Germany and the US and finishing the year eighth with 128 points. The 2009 season saw him score points in every race, a fifth at Assen his best result. He finished what was to be his final MotoGP season in 12th place, with 106 points. The final years  In 2010 he returned to the SBK paddock with Kawasaki Racing and the ZX-10R. The season was characterised by a series of crashes, a knee injury and a subsequent operation that ruled him out of the last four rounds. He concluded 2010 in 20th place with just 10 points to his name. He did &lsquo;slightly&rsquo; better in 2011. The first part of the season was nothing to write home about, with zero points scored in four races. Chris then missed the US round to return for Misano and Aragon. He only scored points in the final two rounds, taking 14 points in four races to round out the season 21st overall. 2012 saw him return to MotoGP with team Forward, as a stand-in for injured Colin Edwards. Chris finished the Le Mans race in 17th place. Translated by Heather Watson SBK, Bayliss the fearless spirit: cut my finger off, I have to race!       

Following on from Troy Corser, another member of the &ldquo;Australian Collective&rdquo; takes centre stage in our &ldquo;Whatever happened to&hellip;&rdquo; feature. The successor to Pitt in World Supersport, he was the second Aussie to be crowned Supersport world champion

Whatever happened to: Chris Vermeulen

        During an historic age of big personalities, Ben Bostrom was the most-loved SBK rider. With his good looks, particular riding style and lifestyle, the fans loved the American, who came to Europe to compete for Ducati in the production-derived series, a championship that, back then, was synonymous with fun. Ben now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada where he is settled with his family and, as he himself states: "Today I&rsquo;m a professional dad, and it makes me happy. Between one cartoon and the next, I watch the races on TV. I think the championships are still hard fought&rdquo;. And he would know, seeing as he now commentates on them for leading American channels. When he&rsquo;s not cycling, the former rider recalls his battles with the likes of Bayliss, Haga, Corser, Hodgson, Edwards, Toseland, Fogarty, Yanagawa, Okada, Chili, Crafar, Lavilla, Slight. To name but a few. Leaving the US wasn&rsquo;t painful for him, but it was challenging. BB soon got used to European ways though. The AMA title with Honda and the triumphant wildcard with Ducati  HRC wanted just one thing, to conquer America. So management basically said to Ben: "Listen, you have to get the RC45 over the line, always. Don&rsquo;t take any risks. The important thing is the number 1 at the end". And so it was that &ldquo;soldier Ben&rdquo; got the job done, securing the 1998 AMA title without ever actually winning a race. Who cares, he thought. I&rsquo;m going to Ducati anyway. Who cares about the Laguna podium with Honda, it would be better to win as a wildcard. And so he did. Bostrom wore Vance &amp; Hines colours, sharing the garage with a certain Anthony Gobert. How did the wildcard race go? Great. Second and first place. The King of the Corkscrew was able to pass his rivals right and left, in braking and acceleration. Back in Borgo Panigale they said: "Get him to come to Europe&rdquo; and he took the first flight to Bologna. &nbsp; A tough start and the Caracchi &lsquo;hijacking&rsquo;  Ben had a lot to learn when he debuted in WorldSBK, from the environment to the bike, the tyres and the tracks. And his rivals. What rivals they were! Carl Fogarty was a tough team-mate, but the King then sustained an injury at Phillip Island in 2000 and retired from competition. Number 155 was expected to step into the role of team captain following the Brit&rsquo;s abdication, but it proved to be too much responsibility. Juan Borja was called up to the factory Infostrada team, while Bostrom was transferred to the NCR squad. This move proved fundamental, because the American soon found himself back at the sharp end, scoring podiums and playing a starring role in the races. Ducati continued to believe in him and put together the L&amp;M team, with which BB raced for two full seasons at the peak of his career An exceptional 2001, 2002 troubles, the 2005 Honda interlude, and MotoGP  &nbsp; With six wins and three podiums to his name, BB finished fourth overall in the 2001 SBK championship, riding a Dunlop-shod Ducati for team L&amp;M. After a win at the tricky Kyalami track, further success came at Misano and Brands Hatch, his series of wins projecting him well up the standings. Yet problems arrived the following year. Ben later returned, in 2005, with the team Renegade Honda, but the bike proved far from competitive. He had fun anyway and the public loved him more than ever. His seasons in the AMA championship went very well, so much so that he received a call from MotoGP. Or rather Lucio Cecchinello. Ben got to ride the Honda RC 212V at his home track of Laguna Seca, and despite a DNF, he enjoyed the experience, although he did point out that: &ldquo;To be quick, you need to use a lot of electronic controls. I don&rsquo;t like that, I prefer to rely on my right wrist&rdquo;. Translated by Heather Watson Whatever happened to: Troy Corser       

The Californian was one of the best-loved riders of the pre-electronics era. Today he&rsquo;s a proud father, trains with the bicycle each day, rides all kinds of bikes and commentates on MotoGP for American TV

Whatever happened to: Ben Bostrom

        Much requested after the &ldquo;Whatever happened to: Troy Corser&rdquo;, in this new episode we talk about a rider who had quite a brief career (13 years between the world championship and Superike) but who had the honour of being the first to secure both championship titles. Introducing John Kocinski. The early years - spotted by Kenny Roberts Sr.  Born in Little Rock on 20 March 1968 into a family of Polish origin, he started riding minibikes when he was four. Spotted by Kenny Roberts Sr., in the early 80s Roberts himself entered him into various amateur championships. In 1981, he won the 125 americana and finished second in the 250 class aboard a Yamaha, while in '82-'83 he won the amateur AMA, first with a privateer bike and then with a Honda. Over subsequent years, he took part in Endurance races, up until 1987. The 250 world championship  He made his 125 world championship debut in 1988, competing with a Yamaha in the first two races, in Japan and the US. Everyone sat up and took notice when he finished his home race in fourth place. The following year saw him win his first two races, in Japan and the US, and he rounded out the year in 14th place, with 40 points. His only complete season in the 125 class was 1990. It brought 7 wins, 12 podiums, 223 points and his first world title. In 1993 he returned to 250 with the Suzuki, competing in seven races and scoring two podiums, to finish the season twelfth with 80 points. The 500 - Part one  In 1989 Yamaha offered him a race in the top class, at the tricky Spa track. In his only race of the year, John crossed the line fifth. After his triumphant season in 250, he moved to the 500 class for '91, again with Yamaha. He won the final race in Malaysia and scored four additional podiums, finishing the season fourth with 161 points. The 1992 season began with a DNF in Japan and two missed races in Australia and Malaysia. He started back in Spain, finishing fifth. John then reached the podium at Mugello, Assen, France and Brazil and won the season finale in South Africa. He rounded out the year in third place with 102 points. He began '93 in the 250 class with Suzuki, but as of Brno he was back in 500 with the Cagiva. He powered the Italian bike to victory at his home race of Laguna Seca after scoring a double fourth at Brno and Misano. Eleventh for him overall that season, with 51 points. 1994 began with a win in Australia and second place in Malaysia which put him at the top of the standings. A gradual loss of power for his Cagiva C594 over subsequent races prevented him from fighting for the title. He reached the podium on five occasions but finished third overall, with 172 points. Disappointed with the final result he left the paddock and moved to Superbike. Superbike  He spent 1995 training ahead of his 1996 debut in production-derived series. With Fogarty having moved to Honda, Ducati chose the American to flank &lsquo;captain&rsquo; Troy Corser. In 1996 Kocinski closed the season in third place, behind Corser and Slight (finishing just 10 points behind the New Zealander). Her scored five wins and twelve podiums during that first season. Over the winter Fogarty and Kocinski &lsquo;swapped&rsquo; bikes, Carl returning to Ducati and John moving to HRC with the RC45. It was essentially Kocinski who left Ducati due to a misunderstanding with team manager Virginio Ferrari. 1997 was a triumphant year for Kocinski, who scored 9 wins, 17 podiums, 416 points (a career record) and his second world title. John thus became the first rider to win in both the world championship and Superbike. The 500 - Part two  In '98-'99 John completed a final stint in the top class, again with Honda. 1998 saw him race for Sito Pons&rsquo; team, competing in ten of the season&rsquo;s fourteen races and closing twelfth overall with 64 points and a fourth place in France as his best result. In 1999 he moved to team Kanemoto. The season got off to a bad start with a double DNF in Malaysia and Japan. He reached the podium for the final time in his career in France, crossing the line second behind Criville. John finished the year in eighth place with 115 points, and bid farewell to the world championship paddock at the end of that year. Latter years  In 2000 he returned home to compete in the AMA Superbike, where he finished seventh. In 2001-2002 Yamaha asked him to develop the M1 for the 2002 MotoGP. And in that same year, he announced his retirement from racing. John Kocinski today  What does John Kocinski do today? Having hung up his helmet, Kocinski became a businessman and is now a very successful real estate agent. Despite his new found success, the American still likes to get out on the dirt track from time to time. Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP, Petronas Yamaha unveils its 2021 M1 bikes       

The latest episode in the series about &ldquo;forgotten&rdquo; riders is dedicated to the first hero to win in both the world championship and Superbike, an American of Polish origin who was spotted by a certain Kenny Roberts: John Kocinski &nbsp;

Whatever happened to: John Kocinski

        In previous features, we have looked at Karel Abraham and Alex Barros, world championship riders who made brief forays into Superbike. Today, we do the opposite, talking about a Superbike legend with a less than rosy past in the world championship. Make yourselves comfortable as you&rsquo;re about to hear the story of Mr Crocodile/Mr Superpole Troy Corser, the first Australian Superbike champion. The early days: MX and dirt track  Troy Corser was born on 27 November 1971 in Wollongong, Australia. Unlike other riders &lsquo;born&rsquo; on track, Troy&rsquo;s early career involved MX and dirt track. He took part in his first race (MX) at the age of 10, before moving on to the dirt track a few years later. WorldSBK and the AMA (part one) - Yamaha and Ducati  Corser made his world championship debut in 1992, competing in the final rounds of the season, in Australia and New Zealand. Riding a Yamaha, he scored 14 points in all. In late &lsquo;92 he received the call from Ducati by way of the Fast by Ferracci team. From 1993 to 1994 he competed in the AMA Superbike (what is now MotoAmerica), winning the title in 1994. 1994 saw him alternate between the AMA and WorldSBK. Taking part in four international rounds, he reached the podium in five of the eight races to close the season in eleventh place, with 90 points. In 1995 he became a Ducati factory rider alongside then champion Carl Fogarty. He finished the season as runner-up with 339 points, four wins and 15 podiums in all. When Fogarty moved to Honda in 1996, Troy took over the reins as first rider at Ducati. The Australian was more than up to the task and secured his first career title in what was only his second full-time season in Superbike, scoring 369 points, seven wins and 13 podiums. The 500 - RedBull Yamaha, disappointment  Troy attempted a move to the world championship in 1997, competing in the 500 class with the Yamaha YZR500 of team RedBull WCM. But his adventure lasted just seven races. After the Dutch GP, the team let him go due to contractual issues. During his time in the championship, he attained just 11 points, having finished only four races. WorldSBK (part two) - Ducati, Aprilia, Petronas, Suzuki, Yamaha, BMW  The disappoint of the 500 class behind him, Troy returned to Ducati with Virginio Ferrari&rsquo;s team. His team-mate for the 1998 season was Pierfrancesco Chili. It didn&rsquo;t take Corser long to get back into his rhythm, and he was leading the championship going into the final round at Sugo. That Sunday at Sugo turned out to be a dramatic one, Troy suffering a crash during warm-up that ruled him out of the rest of the day&rsquo;s action. He nevertheless finished the season third with 328.5 points and just two race wins (race 1 at Laguna Seca and race 2 at Brands Hatch). In 1999, his final season with Ducati, Troy opened with a double podium in South Africa and a double win on home turf in Australia, ahead of his team-mate Fogarty. The season essentially involved a two-way battle between Fogarty and Corser, and the arrival of a young Colin Edwards. Carl went on to win his fourth and final title that season, while Troy again finished third. At the end of &lsquo;99 Corser accepted an offer from Aprilia to ride the RSV1000 in 2000. The Australian had a spectacular season and finished third with five wins, eight podiums and 310 points. The following year proved rather problematic for the Aprilia team. Just two race wins, at the Valencia season-opener, saw Corser finish fourth overall. Between 2001 and 2002 Corser&rsquo;s former team-mate called him to propose a project: the Foggy Petronas. Fogarty was convinced that Corser could help with development and Troy gladly accepted. They spent 2002 developing the FP1, ready for its debut in 2003. But the 2003 season proved quite problematic and the bike was as beautiful as it was plagued with issues. Corser did what he could, a fifth-place finish in race 1 in Australia his best result, but he ended the season 12th with just 107 points. He did better the following year, finishing second in race 1 at Misano and closing the championship in ninth place with 146 points. In late 2004 Italian-Belgian manager Francesco Batta called Corser to offer him a ride with Suzuki, aboard the new GSX-R K5. Troy quickly accepted and immediately won at Losail in 2005. The Australian went on to dominate that season, winning eight races and scoring a total of 18 podiums and 433 points (a career best), as well as his second world title. The following year, 2006, Corser set out to defend his title but his Suzuki was no match for the Ducati 999F06 of Troy Bayliss and the Honda CBR1000RR of James Toseland. While his fellow-countryman went on to lift the title trophy, Corser finished fourth with 254 points and two wins. In 2007, fifteen years after his SBK debut, Troy returned to Yamaha alongside Haga. He finished the season fifth, with 296 points but no wins and just nine podiums. He continued with Yamaha in 2008 and went on to battle it out with Bayliss for the title. It was a dream scenario for the Australians, with two of their riders fighting for the trophy. Bayliss ultimately won, with Corser scoring 342 points and 13 podiums to finish second, despite having won no races. The final three years of Corser&rsquo;s career were spent with BMW, developing the S1000RR. Mr Crocodile&rsquo;s results began to drop off during this period, 2010 bringing his final podiums, at Monza and Misano. Mr Superpole  Throughout his career, Troy Corser came to be known as Mr Superpole, due to his obvious skills over the flying lap. During his career, the Australian scored 43 pole positions in all, the first in Germany in 1995 and the last in Misano in 2008. Troy Corser today  We are often asked what Corser is doing now. At the tender age of 49, the Australian is still linked to BMW and organises riding courses at some of the world&rsquo;s best tracks. He can be found riding not only the S1000RR but also the new M1000RR, the bike that will be used by teams in both the world and national championships. Translated by Heather Watson Whatever happened to: Alex Barros       

Our journey to discover &lsquo;forgotten&rsquo; riders continues with a WorldSBK legend and the first Australian to win the title. It's Mr Superpole himself, Troy Corser

Whatever happened to… Troy Corser

        The second feature in our &ldquo;whatever happened to...&rdquo; series is dedicated to Brazilian Alex Barros, now the owner of a team in SuperBike Brasil but with a glorious past in the world championship and a brief foray into Superbike in 2006, with the green-gold CBR1000R of team Klaffi. The beginning: from the 80 to 250  Alexandre &ldquo;Alex&rdquo; Barros was born in San Paolo on 18 October 1970. He arrived in the world championship at the age of 15, debuting on 4 May 1986 in the 80 class, where he rode an Autisa. 1986 proved rather complicated for the Brazilian who scored just six points, thanks to an eighth-place finish in the UK and the same result in San Marino. In 1987 he moved to an Arbizu/Casal bike but the level remained more or less the same, eight points with a seventh place finish at Misano his best result. Barros then bypassed the 125 class to move directly up to 250 in 1988. He ran just one race, at home in Brazil, but scored no points. In 1989 he was hired by team Venemotos to ride a Yamaha. He finished 18th overall with 30 points, a ninth place in Sweden his best race result. The 500: Cagiva, Suzuki and Honda  In 1990, Cagiva brought him to the 500 class alongside Randy Mamola and Ron Haslam. Thanks to Carlo Pernat, he signed with the italian team in late &rsquo;89. He closed the 1990 championship in 12th place with 57 points and a fifth-place finish as his best result (at Spa). The &rsquo;91 season was a strange one for Barros. He finished 13th with 46 points but only took part in six races, finishing fourth at Mugello. During the 1992 season, his final year aboard the Italian bike, he again closed 13th, with just 29 points but the satisfaction of having scored the first podium of his career, at Assen. At the end of 1992 he was hired by Suzuki to flank a certain Kevin Schwantz. He would remain with the Hamamatsu manufacturer for two seasons, achieving his first race win at Jarama in 1993, the final round of the season at which Schwantz was crowned world champion. In 1994 he regularly finished inside the points zone, except at Donington. Overall, he scored 259 points and three podiums in his time at Suzuki. 1995 marked the start of a long love story with Honda, which was interrupted only in 2003 (Yamaha) and 2007 (Ducati). In 1995 he signed for team Kanemoto and closed seventh with 104 points, while in &lsquo;96 it was Pileri that hired him. The Brazilian finished fourth, his best ever overall result, with 158 points and three podiums, namely two second places in Malaysia and Indonesia and third place at Assen. From 1997 to 1998 he worked with Fausto Gresini, first with the NSR V2 and then with the V4: three podiums over two years and another 239 points. From 1999 to 2002 and again in 2005, he raced for Sito Pons&rsquo; team. In 1999 he finished ninth with 110 points and a second-place finish at Imola. The following season, the penultimate year for the 500s, he again finished fourth in the championship, scoring two wins along the way (Assen and Sachsenring) and three podiums overall. With a win at Assen, Barros returned to winning ways seven years after his first Jarama win in &lsquo;93. 2001 brought another fourth place finish in the standings, the Brazilian scoring 182 points, a win at Mugello and four podiums in all. MotoGP: Honda, Yamaha and Ducati  A new world championship era began in 2002 with the arrival of the powerful four-strokes in a season that also incorporated 500 two-strokes. Up until Brno, Barros was riding the old NSR500 that was able to compete against the four-strokes at certain tracks. He scored two podiums with the two-stroke, at Assen and Donington, and then rode the four-stroke from Brno onwards, winning at Motegi and Valencia and also reaching the podium in Malaysia and Australia. It would be another fourth-place finish overall, thanks to a final tally of 204 points. Barros bid farewell to team Pons and Honda in 2003 and moved to the factory Yamaha team. That season he scored just one podium, in France, rounding out the year in ninth place with 101 points in all. He returned to Honda in 2004, joining team Repsol alongside Hayden to replace the outgoing Rossi. Alex closed fourth overall (his fifth such finish during his career) with 165 points and four podiums. 2005 saw him rejoin team Pons alongside Troy Bayliss. He achieved one final race win, at Portugal, and also reached the podium at a wet Donington. The Brazilian finished eighth overall with 147 points. His Superbike foray, the return to MotoGP and retirement  At the end of 2005, Barros accepted an offer from team Klaffi Honda to move over to Superbike for 2006. He lined up at Qatar with a special green-gold livery for his CBR1000R. he didn&rsquo;t do at all badly in the production-derived series, finishing sixth with 246 points (the highest points the Brazilian had ever scored), a race 1 win at Imola, and a further five podiums. But he soon returned to MotoGP, and Ducati. 2007 saw him join team Pramac D&rsquo;Antin aboard a Desmosedici GP7. There were ups and downs, but the real highlight was a Mugello podium behind Rossi and Pedrosa. He rounded out the championship and his career in tenth place with 115 points. At the end of this season he announced his retirement from racing at the age of 37. A return to racing in Brazil and a second retirement  In 2016, nine years after his last race (2007 Valencia MotoGP), he put his suit and helmet back on and returned to racing at the &lsquo;tender&rsquo; age of 46. &nbsp;He founded his own team, Alex Barros Racing, and competed in SuperBike Brasil, battling it out against much younger riders and scoring some good results to finish second in 2018 and third in 2019. At the end of 2019 he announced his second retirement when the Brazilian Federation failed to accept his team&rsquo;s appeal regarding that of Eric Granado. The EWC  Alex Barros also made a one-off appearance in the legendary Suzuka 8 Hours. It was 1999 and the Brazilian, paired with Japanese rider Tadayuki Okada, hit the target, winning the world&rsquo;s most prestigious Endurance race. Alex Barros today  At 50 years of age, the Brazilian still has racing in his blood. He manages his own team, Alex Barros Racing, in SuperBike Brasil using BMW S1000RR bikes thanks to an ongoing collaboration with BMW Motorrad since he stopped racing at 46. As well as running a team, Barros has opened an Academy to find the next "Alex Barros" destined for the world championship. His hopes are currently pinned on Diego Moreira who competes in the CEV Moto3 with Honda Monlau has trained with the Marquez brothers. Translated by Heather Watson Whatever happened to: Karel Abraham       

Our journey to unearth &lsquo;forgotten&rsquo; world championship riders continues with Brazilian Alex Barros, a star of both 500 and MotoGP and who also competed in World Superbike

Whatever happened to: Alex Barros

Whatever happened to them? It&rsquo;s a question we often hear regarding riders who disappear after years of world championship racing across the various classes. The first name that comes to mind is that of Karel Abraham, &ldquo;cut&rdquo; by Avintia at the end of 2019 to make room for Zarco.  The early years   Karel Abraham was born in Brno on 2 January 1990. Unlike his colleagues, from 1996 to 2001 he practiced alpine skiing. He then changed direction when he was about 12 and starting riding bikes, taking part in the Junior B 125 category of the national Czech and European minibike championships in 2002-2003 and finishing third in 2003. In 2004 he competed in the Czech, German and European minibike championships.  125, 250 and Moto2   In 2005-2006 he raced in 125 with Aprilia, first with team Semprucci Cardion Blauer and, in 2006, with a team founded by his father, Cardion AB Motoracing. He scored just eight points over the two years, all of which in just two races in 2006, in Japan and Portugal. In 2007 he moved to 250, still in the &ldquo;comfort zone&rdquo; of his family&rsquo;s team. He achieved 145 points between 2007 and 2009, with ten top-ten finishes over his three years in the Middle Class. His best season came in 2010, the year that Moto2 replaced the 250 class. He finished tenth overall with 96 points and scored his first podium in Japan as well as his first and only win at Valencia.  MotoGP and Superbike   2011 saw him make his MotoGP debut aboard the Ducati Desmosedici of family team Cardion AB Motoracing. Of his eight seasons in the Top Class, his best performances came in 2011 and 2012, when he finished 14th overall with 64 and 59 points respectively. With the ART he scored just five points in 2013, then 33 points in 2014 aboard the Honda and zero in 2015, again with the Honda.  In 2016 he moved to Superbike with the Milwaukee BMW team and team-mate Josh Brookes. He finished 18th overall with 33 points. Returning to MotoGP in 2017 with the team Aspar Ducati, he scored 32 points, a seventh-place finish in Holland his best result. He remained with team Aspar (Angel Nieto) in 2018 but results proved disappointing, the rider closing 23rd overall with just 12 points and an eleventh-place finish in Australia his best result.  He moved to Avintia in 2019 alongside Tito Rabat but scored just nine points over the 19-race season and was &lsquo;cut&rsquo; at the end of the season to make room for Johann Zarco.  Karel Abraham today   So what does the former rider do today? We asked him directly and talked about both the 2020 MotoGP and SBK seasons.  Karel, first of all, how are you and what are you up to now?  &ldquo;Health wise, I&rsquo;m good. But I miss the racing. This is the first year that I haven&rsquo;t been on track after a lifetime of riding. Unfortunately, Covid has drastically changed everyone&#39;s plans and, though luckily I haven&rsquo;t caught it, it&rsquo;s been hard for everyone with the country in lockdown&rdquo;.  We know Brno won&rsquo;t be on the calendar in 2021, what can you tell us?  &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the right person to ask about the politics behind the Brno MotoGP round but I know a little. As a rider or former rider it&rsquo;s a terrible shame that MotoGP doesn&rsquo;t come to Brno anymore because everyone loves the track and we were pleased to hold the event here. Brno is also the longest track on the calendar along with Assen. It&rsquo;s bad news, I&rsquo;m disappointed and sad that the Brno race is no more but the government and Dorna were unable to reach an agreement or if there was one, it didn&rsquo;t work out&rdquo;.  Did you watch the MotoGP this last year?  &ldquo;Sure, I saw all the races, or most of them, and commented on five or six of them for Czech TV. It was a great season and I enjoyed watching&rdquo;.  What do you think of Joan Mir&rsquo;s title?  &ldquo;Joan Mir works with my former crew chief from my Aspar days, and both of them deserved the title this year. I know Joan personally, I like him and he&rsquo;s a great guy. I was supporting him this year and he deserved the title, especially for the second part of the season in which he was perfect. I&rsquo;m really happy for him. I have to admit that at the start of the season I didn&rsquo;t have him down as a possible contender, he surprised me in a positive way and I hope he can continue in the same vein in 2021 and fight for the title again&rdquo;.  Translated by Heather Watson  MotoGP, Marquez resumes training, but his arm brace remains 

We launch a new column that looks at those riders who have &ldquo;vanished&rdquo; from the world championship paddock. We start with Czech rider Karel Abraham, who departed MotoGP at the end of 2019