Bayliss extends unbeaten start

Troy Bayliss made it a perfect four out of four to stamp his authority on the World Superbike Championship.

The Australian Ducati Infostrada rider, the reigning world champion, triumphed in both races to add to his two wins at Valencia in round one. However, not everything went Bayliss's way over the weekend and he was forced to battle to the front from second on the grid after Colin Edwards pipped him to pole position.

In race one Bayliss quickly eased ahead of his American rival, who looked set to mount a late attack before a devastating run of quick laps saw the Australian stroll to victory.

The L&M Ducati rider Ruben Xaus scored his first podium finish of the season, some way behind the Castrol Honda of Edwards. The Burnley-born HM Plant Ducati racer Neil Hodgson took part in a tense battle with his HM Plant Ducati rival Ben Bostrom but was just beaten to fourth place by the American.

Hodgson's Sheffield-based team-mate James Toseland recorded an eighth-place finish while Chris Walker completed a good day for the Britons by taking his Kawasaki to ninth.

Race two followed a similar pattern at the front, with Bayliss and Edwards frantically exchanging the lead before the world champion claimed yet another victory. Spain's Xaus came in third to ensure an identical podium to that after the first race.

Hodgson got his revenge on Bostrom by reversing the result of race one, edging ahead of the American after a close race to claim fourth. Toseland improved by one spot to take seventh while Walker finished ninth again and Mark Heckles capped a fine display with his first world superbike points, taking 14th on his Rumi Honda.