WSBK rookie Ryuichi Kiyonari, winner of three races for the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team, returns after missing the Magny Cours round due to injury, while Ruben Xaus completes the current top 10 in the standings on 171 points in his final race for the Sterilgarda Ducati team before joining Corser at BMW.

Kiyonari and Checa will be joined by Jonathan Rea this weekend, the 2009 Ten Kate WSBK rider getting an early debut after swapping seats with Kenan Sofuoglu. Sofuoglu will thus drop back down to Ten Kate's WSS outfit, for whom he will ride in 2009.

The lead Kawasaki is that of Regis Laconi in just 17th place. The Frenchman, and team-mate Makoto Tamada, A word of mention also for the PSG-1 Corse riders Régis Laconi and Makoto Tamada (20th), will be hoping that the unknown territory of Portimao can throw up some reward for their efforts.

No Superbike titles will be up for grabs in Portugal after Ducati completed its fifteenth Manufacturers' triumph to go with Bayliss's Riders' victory.

The World Supersport fight has also been decided, in Andrea Pitt's favour, after team-mate Rea was taken out by Robbin Harms at Magny Cours.

For Pitt it was his second Supersport title, seven years after taking his first on a Kawasaki, and the Australian can ride without any pressure this weekend.

Meanwhile, Rea's early switch to the premier-class means that he could lose second in the final standings to Hannspree Stiggy Motorsport Honda's Josh Brookes or even Yamaha's Broc Parkes, who has so far been unable to convert his sensational qualifying form into race wins this year.

Spaniard Joan Lascorz has re-emerged as a front-runner in this latter part of the season and is equal on points for fifth place with Frenchman Fabien Foret, who returned to the fray at his home round after injury destroyed his season.