Oli Bayliss returned to the FIM Supersport World Championship podium this weekend as he bravely battled to a third place finish in Sunday’s WorldSSP race, backing up his sixth place finish in race one.

The usual Friday schedule saw the Triumph Street Triple 765 RS duo venture out for free practice as they dialed their machines into the tricky Most layout. With Superpole around the corner, both Bayliss and Booth-Amos ventured out and made the most of the dry track time despite a threat of rain. A promising lap from each rider put Bayliss in fifth and Booth-Amos just behind in seventh, but Bayliss was later promoted to fourth after a grid penalty for Valentin Debise.

Saturday’s opening race delivered mixed results for the PTR Triumph Factory Racing squad, with Bayliss recording a solid sixth position as teammate Booth-Amos crashed out.

The first of two 19-lap races got underway under the Czech sunshine, with both Triumph Street Triple 765 RS machines making a promising getaway from the second and third rows. Bayliss, who had started fourth, relinquished a couple of positions at the tricky opening chicane and settled into the early stages of the race in sixth whilst Booth-Amos held position behind. 

An early exchange saw the two Triumphs swap places before a mistake at turn one saw Tom run straight on. Rejoining in 11th, the British rider battled back through the pack, setting the fastest lap in the process but sadly crashed out of contention at the same corner a few laps later.

Meanwhile, Bayliss kept himself in the podium fight and ultimately took the chequered flag in sixth place, banking a solid dose of points for the number 32 rider.

Compos Racing’s Ondrej Vostatek secured points in his and the team’s home round, crossing the line in 14th.

Sunday’s second race was a similar affair, with nine bikes occupying the leading group. A strong start saw both PTR Triumph Street Triple 765 RS’ settle into eighth and ninth places before making their surge through the pack.

A collision and a subsequent long lap penalty ahead elevated Booth-Amos and Bayliss into the podium fight with the British rider holding third. A mistake into turn one demoted Tom back to fifth, but a hard-charging number 69 was soon back in the podium places. However, disaster struck on the final lap as the Triumph rider chased the riders ahead, losing the front, crashing out of contention. He rejoined and took the chequered flag in 16th.

Meanwhile, Bayliss emerged from turn one in third place, with just one lap remaining and a comfortable gap to the riders behind, the Australian pushed on and secured his second WorldSSP podium finish and the teams’ third of the season.

The FIM Supersport World Championship returns to action in Aragon on May 29-31.

Tom Booth-Amos, PTR Triumph Factory Racing
“Obviously not the weekend we hoped for. We had good pace throughout the weekend and were running in good positions in the races but unfortunately two small mistakes and no points to show for it. The race today was going well and I was sitting third on the final lap before the crash. We’ll regroup and go again in Aragon.”

Oli Bayliss, PTR Triumph Factory Racing
“Pretty good weekend. We were fast from the get go despite having a few small problems midway through the first race. We made a few changes to the bike which meant I could push a little less for the early laps of race two but meant I had a little more tyre for the end of the race. Still, we had a little drop off but it was enough to hold third. It was a shame for Tom and also Lucas who crashed on the last lap but it meant I went from fifth to third, but I’m happy to be back on the podium. We’ll take the confidence from this weekend and build on it in Aragon.”