Troy Bayliss may have retired but it hasn’t kept him out of the paddock as he supports his son Oli climbing the racing ladder to emulate him.

The three-time World Superbike champion is a regular face in the paddock particularly at his home rounds at Phillip Island, plus the Australian MotoGP which is hosted at the same track, but after celebrating his 50th birthday last year he is enjoying retirement and his new life out of the saddle.

But it hasn’t stopped him from being heavily involved in racing, as he helps run the DesmoSport Ducati team in the Australian Superbike championship and supports his son Oli in the Australian Supersport championship.

Starting just his second season in the 600cc class. 16-year-old Oli Bayliss stunned to take pole position, two wins and a second place behind defending champion Tom Toparis, to see Bayliss lead the early standings by six points.

Naturally a proud but nervous father, Troy is delighted to see his son rising up the ranks, having also seen Oli make his World Supersport debut at Phillip Island through a wildcard entry.

“I’m really happy just to have a ride every now and then with Oli! Oli’s on his way up and I can see him being pretty good, but I do have a pretty good record…” Bayliss said.

“Now with the team and with Oli, I find myself busy. I still get some time and I do a little bit of training and spend some time with the family, but I find myself quite busy now.”

Reflecting on his own career, Troy Bayliss says the perfect 2006 season he enjoyed by securing the second of his three WorldSBK titles before stunning the MotoGP grid with victory as replacement rider for Sete Gibernau at the Valencian GP remains his ultimate highlight and something he will never forget.

“I think I’d say 2006 was my best memory because the whole of 2006 was very good when we won the World Superbike Championship and winning the MotoGP in Valencia,” he said.

“That race felt like a mini GP win type of thing, so it was a crazy year but great. I never thought about winning in MotoGP but it just happened, so after it happened it felt like it was special and putting the icing on the cake.”

While the junior Bayliss is making headlines in Australia, he still has a long way to go to match his father’s records. But given the talent and experience inside their camp, Oli is likely to be a star of the future to watch out for.