Championships rarely get more competitive than the 1998 season; five riders stood out as contenders early on, though one by one they would fall away. Noriyuki Haga's first full season started with 3 wins from 4 races and stalled abruptly when he beat himself into submission with a series of violent crashes. Pierfrancesco Chili's first official factory role with Ducati yielded 5 wins including a double at Kyalami, before a dramatic encounter with Carl Fogarty at Assen cost him his championship chance and his composure. The ever-consistent Troy Corser had a shot at the championship with 2 races to go, but a painfully slow crash in warm-up for the finale left him in hospital instead. Aaron Slight proved his resilience by picking himself up from mid-race crashes to still score points on 3 separate occasions, but it still wasn't rewarded; 2 frustrating races at Sugo ended in a shoving match with Neil Hodgson and 2nd place in the standings again - by just 4.5 points. Surviving the chaos, Carl Fogarty took his 3rd title in one of the most memorable Superbike years to date.