Toseland, desperate to leave WSBK as a double world champion, proved his nerve by winning his final Superpole appearance - but saw all his advantage undone after tangling with
Lorenzo Lanzi at turn one of race one. In what was close to a worse case scenario, Toseland went spearing off track but - with his heart in his mouth - managed to keep his Honda on two wheels and rejoin at the back of the field.
James went on to fight his way up to seventh, just one place behind an off-form Biaggi, while Haga took the win. The world title thus came down to the 25th and final race of the year, which Toseland began 17 points clear of Haga. The Yamaha star was on peerless form at Magny-Cours, duly winning race two for his second double of the season, but a safe sixth place for Toseland gave him the world crown by just two points.
From the 25 races, Toseland took 8 wins, 14 podiums and 2 pole positions, making him a worthy winner, while Haga's haul of 6 wins, 15 podiums and 2 poles at least helped Yamaha lift the manufacturers' crown.
Biaggi's 17 podiums from 25 races marked an incredibly high level of consistency for a WSBK rookie, while Bayliss still claimed a highly competitive 7 wins, 13 podiums and 6 poles.
The only other rider to win a race was
Ruben Xaus, whose race one triumph at Valencia was also the only win by a non-factory rider and marked the spectacular Spaniard's first victory since 2003, when he finished title runner-up to team-mate Neil Hodgson on a factory Ducati.
Xaus also took a third place at Assen, but still finished 95 points behind a winless
Troy Corser, whose first season at Yamaha ended with a solid fifth in the points and nine podium finishes.
Italians Lorenzo Lanzi and
Roberto Rolfo were left firmly in the shadow of team-mates Bayliss and Toseland, costing them their seats for 2008, and they finished exactly equal on points - Lanzi getting the nod for seventh due to a single podium finish, something Rolfo was cruelly denied when he ran out of fuel at Monza.
