Carl Fogarty (Ducati) – the 1994 and 1995 world champions were among the favorites for the world championship title in the 1998 season. The reigning world champion John Kocinski had returned to the 500 World Cup after two years at WSBK and so there could be no defending champion.

The second half of the 1998 season – year 12 of WorldSBK

With already three rain races, the drivers in South Africa and California could hope for dry conditions as the next stations. With Kyalami it was the first time on the route from South Africa, which is roughly halfway between Johannesburg and Pretoria. And obviously the majority of those involved were enthusiastic about this course, at least the season opener should take place here the following year. There have been no known drivers from this country for some time. The heyday of Kork Ballington and John Ekerold was already two decades ago and drivers like 6-time GP winner William Raymond Amm (fatally injured on MV Agusta in Imola in 1955) had probably long since forgotten.

Aerial view of the Kyalami racetrack, which was also the restaurant of the motorcycle world championship several times between 1983 and 1992. The 500 cc race was won by the two former AMA Superbike stars Eddie Lawson (1984 and 1985) and Freddie Spencer (1983). In the 1992 event, the 1997 Superbike World Champion, John Kocinski, also triumphed.

World Championship situation at halftime and the impressive rookie
So far, no clear World Cup favorite had emerged in the first 6 of the 12 World Cup rounds. At the top was Troy Corser with 200 points ahead of Aaron Slight (194), Colin Edwards (167), Carl Fogarty (164), Pierfrancesco Chili (144) and Noriyuki Haga (143). Behind Akira Yanagawa with 101 points. With rookie Noriyuki Haga, the 1998 season saw at least a clear whiz kid. The Japanese had impressed last year in wildcard appearances in Sugo (Japan) and Sentul (Indonesia). This resulted in a victory and two more podium places.

Kawasaki Speerspitze Akira Yanagawa – the Japanese had won two races in the previous year and in 1998 was often overshadowed by his strong compatriot Noriyuki Haga, the Yamaha works rider.

The premiere in Kyalami with World Cup round 7

In the first run, the second starting place was empty when the lights went out. The 1996 world champion and world championship leader Troy Corser had already crashed with his Ducati in the warm-up lap and therefore the remaining 20 riders started the race without the Australian. The flagman almost didn’t want to go off the track when Pierfrancesco Chili gestured angrily to him that he should finally get out of here. Behind Suzuki driver Jamie Whitham, Carl Fogarty and Gregorio Lavilla (both Ducati) the Italian then turned into the first corner on P4. On lap two Foggy took the lead and a little later Chili also conceded the Spaniard lying in front of him. Two rounds later it was Whitham’s turn and the Italian went on the hunt for the leading Englishman.

Jamie Whitham – the Suzuki driver from England appeared in 1998 together with his Australian team-mate Peter Goddard again and again at the front. A year before that he had become the best Suzuki driver after 10 years WSBK with 8th place in the World Championship.

The decision in the first run with the Ducati Festival
Chili was in top form and the former Rimini pool attendant managed to catch Ducati brand colleague Carl Fogarty who was in the lead. After he had been overtaken by Jamie Whitham in the meantime, Gregorio Lavilla had fought his way back to 3rd place and ensured a triple triumph for the red racers from Borgo Panigale near Bologna. The two Suzukis of Jamie Whitham and Peter Goddard followed closely behind and Akira Yanagawa on the best Kawasaki was sixth ahead of his Japanese compatriot Nori Haga (Yamaha). Honda spearhead Aaron Slight had to settle for P8 ahead of teammate Colin Edwards and Scott Russell finished 10th.

The winner and runner-up of the first run of Kyalami, on the left the Italian crowd favorite Pierfrancesco Chili in conversation with his Ducati brand colleague and two-time world champion Carl Fogarty.

The second race of Kyalami
This time Troy Corser did better and took the lead right after the start in front of his 3 brand colleagues Fogarty, Chili and Lavilla. Shortly afterwards the Spaniard passed the Italian in front of him and in the first few laps nothing changed in the picture with the 4 red bikes at the front. Then Slight, Lavilla and Whitham flew off in the 4th lap, apparently they had all slipped on oil in a right turn and only the New Zealander was able to continue the race afterwards. After this mass fall, the warning flag was waved. Foggy and Corser then dueled at the top until the Australian fell back and the Englishman was then put under pressure by Haga and Chili. The Italian won with 0.23 seconds on Fogarty and Haga stayed in third place ahead of Colin Edwards, Akira Yanagawa, Peter Goddard and the initially leading Corser. Slight had to be content with P8 in front of Russell and Bontempi, which was the second time he had important points.

Akira Yanagawa – the Japanese delivered a solid performance with ranks 6 and 5 in South Africa, but it shouldn’t be enough for victories in 1998, unlike last year.

World Cup round 8 in Laguna Seca

As in Sugo (Japan), the US Superbike World Championship race traditionally featured mostly strong local riders with a wildcard. This was also the case in 1998 and with that, of course, these pilots also took points away from the colleagues they had beaten in their fight for the World Cup. It could not be expected that Kawasaki veteran Doug Chandler would land on the podium. The man had already participated in WorldSBK’s second year in 1989 and scored points in his home race as a guest starter in Brainerd. A full nine years later, the man with the number 110 was still riding a Kawasaki and made countless world-class drivers look old, chapeau!

In the first race, Troy Corser took the lead after the start, followed by Nori Haga and the two Kawasaki drivers Chandler and Yanagawa. Suzuki wildcard driver Mat Mladin followed in front of Neil Hodgson, Jamie Whitham and the other American Ben Bostrom on a Honda. In the 3rd lap, Yamaha Ass Haga flew into the gravel and Mladin had to give up with engine problems. Shortly after the middle of the race there was a mass crash on the approach to the infamous Cork-Screw, which led to the crash. This meant that the first 15 drivers only received half points. The winner was Corser ahead of Yanagawa, Chandler, Bostrom, Carl Fogarty, Jamie Whitham and Pierfrancesco Chili, who also fell. Eighth place gave 4 points to Aaron Slight, followed by Neil Hodgson, Jamie Hacking (Yamaha), Colin Edwards and Aaron Yates (Suzuki). There was even a restart, but another mass crash happened right after the start, after which run 1 was finally over.

Shortly after the start of the first race at the entrance to the Cork-Screw, the pursuers of Leader Corser: Haga, Chandler, Yanagawa and Mat Mladin. In the back left you can see the 2 from Foggy and on the right with the 111 Aaron Slight.

The second run of Laguna Seca
Of 26 drivers, 13 should not see the finish line, and 6 of them did not even start at the start. In addition to Aaron Slight, these included Doug Chandler, Piergiorgio Bontempi and his Kawasaki brand colleague Akira Yanagawa. Initially, Scott Russell took the lead, but the Yamaha rider fell out after two laps. Shortly before that, he had received a stop and go penalty and was behind team-mate Haga on P2. Troy Corser set out to pursue the Japanese leader. Followed by his Ducati brand colleagues Bostrom and Chili, he finally crossed the finish line behind the Yamaha ace. Carl Fogarty had to retire after 7 laps with technical problems. 5th place went to Jamie Whitham (Suzuki) ahead of Neil Hodgson (Kawasaki), Jamie Hacking (Yamaha), Peter Goddard (Suzuki), Alessandro Gramigni (Ducati) and Honda rider Colin Edwards.

Carl Fogarty (Ducati) in the Cork Screw – the two-time world champion had only won 2 races so far. But because his opponents kept struggling with problems from time to time, he was still in the race for the world title.

The return to Europe with round 9 in England and a new name

Before Brands Hatch, Troy Corser was in the lead with 242 points in the intermediate championship ranking. They were followed by Aaron Slight (214), Pierfrancesco Chili (212), Carl Fogarty (209), Colin Edwards (196) and Noriyuki Haga (193). So the decision in the title fight was still completely open for the last third.

The first race turned into a Honda Festival, with Colin Edwards triumphing over Castrol Honda team-mate Aaron Slight. Initially the two Ducati riders Troy Corser and Pierfrancesco Chili were still, but Edwards soon passed them and took the lead. A little later, Slight was also on the advance and set out to pursue the front-runner. In formation flight, the two leaders crossed the finish line after 25 laps with a gap of more than 10 seconds ahead of Scott Russell in third place. As the best Englishman and Ducati rider, Carl Fogarty had to make do with fourth place. Behind them were Jamie Whitham (Suzuki), Niall Mackenzie (Yamaha), Corser (Ducati), Steve Hislop (Yamaha), Chili and Peter Goddard (Suzuki). Haga finished 12th ahead of Australian Troy Bayliss on a Ducati. The latter should attract a lot of attention in the Superbike World Championship in the coming years.

Scott Russell (Yamaha) – the 1993 world champion on Kawasaki had to wait until the ninth round before his first podium of the 1998 season became a reality.

Brands Hatch’s second race
Again Troy Corser took the lead after the start. After the first lap, Colin Edwards was in P2 ahead of Jamie Whitham and Foggy. Slight followed 2 seconds behind, ahead of Hodgson, Haga and the Englishman Sean Emmett (Ducati). After 9 of 25 laps, Carl Fogarty was in second place ahead of his compatriots Whitham and Emmett, who would later fail. Behind the two Hondas from Edwards and Slight. In the end, Corser was flagged as the winner and Foggy followed in second place, 3.24 seconds behind, ahead of Jamie Whitham with the Suzuki. Colin Edwards finished fourth, ahead of Slight, Chili, Haga and Russell. The first 10 were completed by Hodgson and Mackenzie. Hislop finished eleventh ahead of Haydon, Goddard, Reynolds and Bayliss. Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki) had to take a break after his injury at Laguna Seca.

Carl Fogarty (Ducati) – second behind Honda driver Colin Edward as overall winner at Brands Hatch and thus still in a promising position in the fight for the world title.

The last quarter started with round 10 in Styria

For Carl Fogarty, returning to Austria was linked to positive and negative memories. Last year, the Ducati Ace had won the first run, but was eliminated in the second. Troy Corser arrived as World Championship leader, the Australian leading with 276 points ahead of Slight (245), Foggy (242), Edwards (234) and Chili (229).

The decision to win the former Österreichring, which was renamed the A1-Ring in 1996, was extremely close. Aaron Slight took the fourth win of the season ahead of Chili and Fogarty, drawing level with Haga and Chili, who had also won four times. The recovered Akira Yanagawa finished fourth on his Kawasaki ahead of Whitham, Corser and Edwards. Neil Hodgson was eighth ahead of Nori Haga and Peter Goddard on the second best Suzuki.

The Kawasaki team with Neil Hodgson (left) and Akira Yanagawa – the Greens works team led by the German Harald Eckl was quite successful in the second half of the 1990s. However, it was never enough for a world title.
The route in Spielberg seen from the north was taken 20 years later. Now renamed the Red Bull Ring, but only slightly rebuilt, and with a completely new pit system.

The second run of Austria
After the start, the winner of the first race, Aaron Slight, took the lead. In the right bend, which is confusingly still called Turn 3, the Castrol Honda rider was overtaken by Suzuki rider Jamie Whitham on the inside. But before Turn 4 he was already in front again. In the 5th of 25 laps Fogarty, Corser and Yanagawa were behind the leader. A little later, the Australian was in the lead ahead of Slight and Foggy just behind. A three-way battle for the lead developed, with Yanagawa and Pierfrancesco Chili lurking just behind. Corser fell back towards the end and there was a duel between the Englishman and the New Zealander for victory. The latter won and Fogarty had to admit defeat by 0.181 seconds. The Italian followed in front of the Japanese and Australian. Whitham was sixth ahead of Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati), Peter Goddard (Suzuki), Colin Edwards (Honda) and Neil Hodgson on Kawasaki.

Aaron Slight (Castrol Honda) – the double winner from Spielberg had twice prevailed at the finish line. With that, the New Zealander came within 2 points of World Cup leader Corser.
Akira Yamagawa (Kawasaki) had his best result of the season to date in Spielberg, but in the second year of his participation it had not been enough for a podium. In the previous year he was first overall on the A1-Ring with a second place and his first WSBK victory.

The penultimate lap in Assen

Before the World Cup final, which took place for the first time in Sugo, Japan, the semifinals were held in the “Cathedral of Speed”. It is your own fault if you have never been a guest in Assen as a motorsport fan. We can only warmly recommend this to all fans. However, we strongly recommend not to go to the MotoGP race, but to attend a WorldSBK weekend. Hardly any crowds, low prices and a lot of racing action for little money, more is almost impossible. In 1998, the arriving visitors should not be disappointed either. They definitely got some excitement and entertainment. In the first race, Carl Fogarty on the Ducati 996 immediately took the lead, followed by Peter Goddard on the Suzuki and Troy Corser, who shortly after passed his Australian compatriot.

In the second corner, Suzuki driver Jamie Whitham flew off when he ran out of track. Shortly afterwards, Pierfrancesco Chili also passed Goddard, putting three Ducatis in the lead. A little later, Corser was in the lead and the three red ones had cleared their closest pursuers by around 100 m. In the 11th of 16 laps, Chili and Foggy took turns at the top several times, while the Australian had fallen slightly behind. The Englishman was in the lead at the beginning of the last lap, but Chili managed to overtake him and after that the Italian was no longer duped by him. Corser finished third in front of the two Castrol Honda riders Slight and Edwards. Goddard followed in front of Akira Yanagawa, Noriyuki Haga, Scott Russell and Neil Hodgson.

Alessandro Gramigni (Ducati) – the Italian took 6th place after three top ten results in Assen.
The Assen program for the price of 5 guilders.
On page 4 of the Assen program booklet, a company advertised that a little later was to be represented in the WorldSBK paddock for a very long time.

The second race of Assen
After the start, Suzuki Ass Goddard was in the lead, followed by Fogarty, Corser, Slight and Chili. In the first lap, the first three pursuers passed the Australian. At the same time, Yamaha rider Scott Russell flew off, the American had to be content with 7 points this Sunday. At halftime, a group of four had formed when Slight and Chili, after initially being a little behind, caught up with Foggy and Corser again.

The Slovenian Igor Jerman (Kawasaki) was also successful in the Endurance World Championship and secured his second top ten result of the 1998 season in Assen.

Dramatic decision to win
With two laps to go, Chili and the two-time world champion were in the lead with a clear gap to the other two. Shortly before the finish, the Italian took the lead again, but in the last chicane before the start-finish he braked and flew over the front wheel. Fogarty won ahead of Slight, Corser, Edwards, Whitham, Yanagawa and Goddard. Nori Haga completed the top ten ahead of Neil Hodgson and the Slovenian Igor Jerman (both Kawasaki). Only 14 drivers saw the checkered flag and all the remaining drivers were on Kawasaki.

Carl Fogarty and the falling Ducati brand colleague Pierfrancesco Chili, who gave away the double victory a few hundred meters from the finish with his crash.
Aaron Slight in the Castrol Honda box – the “Kiwi” had been world championship leader after the Kyalami event in South Africa and was just two points behind leader Troy Corser ahead of Assen. Now the fight for the title came to a head and after Assen he was only half a point short of the Australian who was leading in the intermediate ranking, but Fogarty was also just behind and was still in the race for the world championship.

The World Cup final in Sugo with the World Championship decision

One month after the two races in the Netherlands, the showdown took place in Japan. Troy Corser was still in the lead with 328.5 points, but Aaron Slight was only half a point behind and Carl Fogarty was just 6 points short of the world championship leader. Pierfrancesco Chili and Colin Edwards were already out of the running for the title decision at this point. The fact that the strong local drivers usually messed up the rankings was already traditional. But even before the first race there was a veritable drama.

The disaster for the world championship leader
Later, as is so often the case, the only thing that would be of primary interest would be who won the world title in the 1998 season. But in this case that person also had a good deal of luck on their side. With Troy Corser, of all people, the world championship leader dropped out before the start of the first race. The Australian secured pole position with a strong qualifying session. But in the warm-up, the 1996 world champion on Ducati suffered a catastrophe. Corser broke his ribs when he fell and had to forego taking part in the races.

Troy Corser (Ducati) traveled to Sugo as the world championship leader and had to pass before the first race because he was injured during warm-up training.

The first race
In front of his home crowd, Noriyuki Haga took the lead right after the start. In the previous year, the Yamaha rider took the overall victory here with second place and first place. On P2 followed a compatriot in Suzuki driver Akira Ryo in front of Carl Fogarty on Ducati and Keiichi Kitagawa (Suzuki). After 5 of 25 laps the order at the top remained unchanged, followed by Scott Russell, Neil Hodgson, Akira Yanagawa and Aaron Slight. In the 13th lap the leader was suddenly missing. Haga had flown off in a right turn and initially remained motionless. Shortly afterwards, however, he got up and stomped away.

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) – often there was only a fall or a victory for the Japanese and this is exactly what made him a crowd favorite, just like with “Frankie” Chili.

The preliminary decision in the first race
With a Suzuki double victory by Kitagawa ahead of Ryo, the Hamamatsu plant became a historic triumph. Carl Fogarty on Ducati was third, ahead of Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki), Scott Russell (Yamaha) and Neil Hodgson on Kawasaki. Aaron Slight lost important points with P7 to Foggy, who is now leading in the World Championships. As a result, the Englishman was now the new leader, but his lead over the Kiwi was only 1.5 points. For the sake of completeness, however, the other placements are also mentioned here. Shinichi Ito (Honda) was eighth ahead of Wataru Yoshikawa (Yamaha), Peter Goddard, Jamie Whitham (both Suzuki) and Chili only on P12 in front of Colin Edwards and another 3 Japanese. Now Slight had to try to finish ahead of Fogarty, otherwise he was world champion.

Carl Fogarty on the new Ducati 996 – after the season opener he was never a World Championship leader for the rest of the season, except for the most important moment, namely before the last race of the year.

The second run of Sugo with the title decision in the very last race of the season
Right from the start, “Nitro Nori” Haga, as he was soon to be called, took the lead again from Foggy. Behind them Akira Ryo, Aaron Slight and Keiichi Kitagawa. The New Zealander, who was on P4, simply did not want to succeed in getting to the new World Championship leader, who was increasingly withdrawing. Instead, Akira Yanagawa on the Kawasaki came rushing up from behind on the 13th lap, who was able to catch up with him. Already in the first race Slight had indicated to the Japanese to stay behind him, but this time too Akira was not ready to give away presents.

Akira Yanagawa on the Kawasaki ZX-7R. The fast Japanese already tipped the scales in the World Championship fight in the first race when he was between Foggy and Slight.

Third time Supersport World Champion – Carl Fogarty

Yanagawa not only overtook Slight, but later also conceded Foggy and Suzuki ace Akira Ryo to finish second behind an outstanding Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) for Kawasaki. Carl Fogarty didn’t risk anything this time and was satisfied with fourth place, while Aaron Slight crossed the finish line a little more than a second behind Keiichi Kitagawa (Suzuki). Again the Kiwi failed because of the long-awaited title win. After four third places and a vice world champion title in 1996, it was again only the runner-up. Foggy, on the other hand, was called “King Carl” by his compatriots and made himself immortal as the first three-time world champion in WSBK history. It was already clear to him that the following year he would again aim to defend the title for the Ducati factory team.

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) – the winner of the final race in his home country Japan was to inspire WorldSBK fans for many years to come and also return with Yamaha the following year.

The 1998 World Championship final

In Laguna Seca, after two mass falls in the first race after the second break, only half points were awarded. Akira Ryo’s first victory by a Suzuki in the 11th year of the Superbike World Championship was historic. Unfortunately, such a success was missed by the two works drivers Jamie Whitham and Peter Goddard, but with world championship rank 8 and 9 they were still ahead of ex-world champion and Yamaha works driver Scott Russel (USA).

Manufacturers Championship 1998 – victory for Ducati

The 1999 season: coming soon..

Unless otherwise stated, this applies to all images (© WorldSBK).