Well the sun finally shone and the track dried up at the Portimao circuit for the last World Superbikes (WSB) race of 2008 and the last ever (so he tells us) race for 2008 WSB Champion Troy Bayliss.

Boy did he go out with a bang. First he gets pole position then he comfortably led race one from the off and race two he was leading within a couple of laps. Nori sure has large boots to fill next year.

However, the action was further back in the race with Fabrizio and Biaggi having a coming together early on in race one which saw them both in the kitty litter and Biaggi inconsolable as well as gesticulating a lot at Fabrizio, oh dear.

The British contingent put in a spirited effort and at various points in race one it looked like we would have a least one of them on the podium with Haslem, Crutchlow and Rea battling near the front. All sadly dropped back which in the case of the HM Plant Honda team was down to tyres delaminating. Despite Rea running off several times and having to fight his way back he still managed to finish 4th.

Nori Haga started a weekend I am sure he would sooner forget. Race one saw him withdraw due to engine problems and at that point he virtually handed second place in the championship to team mate Troy Corser.

The eventual podium of Race 1 was Bayliss, Checa and Corser. In the post race interviews Bayliss said he thought his team were having a joke with him when he saw his pit board and how much time he was ahead of the rest of the field!

Race 2 was action packed from the off with Biaggi storming into the lead from 4th position on the grid, but at the first corner he went in a bit hot and caused everyone else to take evasive action. After that Biaggi seemed to lose his rhythm and dropped back throughout the race to eventually finish a very disappointing 13th.

Xaus had a spectacular crash in exactly the same place as in qualifying after battling hard. Haga had yet more disappointment in race 2 after a jump start saw him with a ride through penalty which effectively secured second place in the championship for Corser.

Michel Fabrizio battled through the pack, eventually taking second and making it a Ducati one, two. Great weekend for the team.

Again the British contingent put up a fight and Leon Haslem fought hard with Fonsi Nieto to take third place on the podium.

So the Race 2 podium was Bayliss, Fabrizio and Haslem.

After the racing all eyes were on Bayliss who clearly had tears in his. After the race he showed what a true sportsman he is by crediting the work of the team in making his wins achievable and in true Bayliss style said that the Ducati was set up the best of the whole year in the second race and it was such a pleasure he didn’t want the race to end. Neither did we Troy, neither did we.

There has been a lot of talk about whether Bayliss could hang up his leathers and just retire. Well it seems not as he will continue as a test rider for Ducati.