Oddly enough, Troy Bayliss' retirement is probably the best thing to happen to World Superbike racing since the control tire was adopted several years ago.

Bayliss didn't dominate the WSBK series as Mat Mladin and Ben Spies have in AMA Superbike, but his impact on the win table has been massive none the less. With Bayliss out of the series for '09 and Ducati without a clear substitute rider to replace him--Haga has been hired but whether he can deliver on the same level as Bayliss is as yet unknown--most expect a great number of different riders and brands notching race wins in 2009.

Moreover, 2009 will bring BMW into WSBK and it will also mark the return of Aprilia. WSBK rookies Ben Spies and Tom Sykes will man the new Yamaha R1, Max Neukirchner will be back on a Suzuki and rain-weather mojo-king Ryuichi Kiyonari will return to ten Kate Honda. All of these factors push forth the possibility of '09 being possibly the best season for multi-rider win drama in series history.