THE long standing rivalry between Valentino Rossi and Troy Bayliss finally happened with the Australian coming out on top - albeit in a drag race on Ducati Diavels.
Taking place at World Ducati Week, the Diavel drag race was run in heats, between Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Bayliss, Carlos Checa, Jakub Smrz, Sylvain Guintoli, Niccolò Canepa and Lorenzo Zanetti.
After the elimination rounds the stage was set for a battle between Rossi and Bayliss. The triple WSB champion got the best launch from his Diavel and tripped the timing beam at 6.306s, Rossi was 0.023s behind. The pair were joined on the podium by Hayden.
