Two rising stars of 1997 - Craig Connell and Steve Martin, both on Ducatis - joined Kawasaki's Marty Craggill and Damon Buckmaster in the front ranks of what would be the last Shell Superbike Championship run to FIM rules. 1997 champion Craggill may have won the opener but his three combatants never made it easy. Over the six-month season Craggill, Buckmaster and Martin won four races each and Connell the other three and between them they recorded only two non-finishes. Nobody could break away as a clear championship contender and once again Oran Park hosted a showdown for the title, and like 1997 Craggill rode cleverly and did just enough to take his second title in a row.