Oli Bayliss will be the sole rider for DesmoSport Ducati at The Bend Motorsports Park for the final round of the 2021 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) on December 3-5 after it has been confirmed that Mike Jones is unable to travel to South Australia with the team.

Team co-owner, Ben Henry: “I’m disappointed to not finish our season with Mike on the bike. His pace in Darwin was strong and he would have been challenging for race wins at The Bend, but we can’t change the situation, so all our attention will be on Oli and of course, supporting Jack (Miller) where required over the weekend. This will be the first time we get to see Oli race the Panigale V4 R on a long, open and flowing track and if anything, I think it will suit his style even more than Darwin so I’m confident we’ll finish the season strong.”

Mike Jones: “Disappointingly, I’m unable to compete at The Bend due to the new double vaccination requirement for this round. It’s a shame for many reasons, but mostly because all the training, preparation and hard work is wasted, and of course it’s a bit sad I won’t get the last dance with the Ducati Panigale V4 R and the team. I felt great on the bike in Darwin before my crash, and even the racing we did at the Southern Downs Series gave me a lot of confidence that I could race for the win at The Bend, so I’m disappointed to not line up there. I’d really like to thank Ben and Troy for the opportunities and support over my time with DesmoSport Ducati, and now I look towards new opportunities in 2022.”

Oli Bayliss: “I’ve had some time off the bike over the last few weeks after finishing school, so I’m looking forward to getting back into it and going racing again, especially at The Bend, it’s such a cool track. I love the Panigale V4 R, I even rode it to my formal a few weeks ago, so to have my last ride on it at The Bend before moving to the Panigale V2 is going to be great and I’m confident that I can give Ben, Dad, Byron, Bryan and everyone at DesmoSport a strong finish to the year. We’ve got Jack in the truck and pit box with us over the weekend too. It’s pretty awesome to be able to share the track and race a current MotoGP factory-level rider, it’s great for the series and it’s great for racing fans to have an opportunity to see Jack ride here again, and hopefully also show even more people just how good the racing is in the ASBK.”

All times in South Australian Local Time

Qualifying: The top 9 times from Timed Practice transfer directly to Qualifying 2, the top 3 times from Qualifying 1 transfer to Qualifying 2.