Britain's James Toseland became the youngest World Superbike Championship winner in history when he clinched the title at Magny-Cours in France. The 23-year-old won the day's first race to move five points clear of rival and Ducati Fila team-mate Regis Laconi.
He only needed to finish ahead of the Frenchman to secure the championship in the final race of the season.
And, despite thousands cheering for his French rival, Toseland came second behind Noriyuki Haga with Laconi third.
Toseland struggled to hold back the tears as he made his way back to the pits to greet his team after clinching the title.
The Briton said: "It's been a long rocky road but I want to say a massive thank you to all my friends and especially my family and my team.
"I'm world champion and I think I deserved it. The championship is going back to where it belongs - Britain.
"There was no option of a mistake. I can't imagine the disappointment I would feel if I had finished second."
Laconi was philosophical despite his disappointment at losing out on the title.
The Frenchman, who was just nine points behind in the final standings, said: "I'm just happy because I did the best I could do - sadly it wasn't enough.
"I still want to fight for titles in the future and I think I can do that.
"Second is not what I wanted but it's my best result in the championship so I'm happy about that."
Leading positions from race one at Magny-Cours:
1 James Toseland (Gbr) Ducati 39mins 29.197secs
2 Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Ducati 39:29.689
3 Regis Laconi (Fra) Ducati 39:32.999
4 Sebastien Gimbert (Fra) Yamaha 39:37.024
5 Steve Martin (Aus) Ducati 39:43.023
6 Pierfrancesco Chili (Ita) Ducati 39:54.538
7 Leon Haslam (Gbr) Ducati 39:58.190
8 Chris Walker (Gbr) Petronas 40:01.653
9 Garry McCoy (Aus) Ducati 40:11.650
10 Stephane Duterne (Fra) Kawasaki 40:20.152
Leading positions from race two at Magny-Cours:
1 Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Ducati 39:34.329
2 James Toseland (Gbr) Ducati 39:37.484
3 Regis Laconi (Fra) Ducati 39:40.119
4 Sebastien Gimbert (Fra) Yamaha 39:49.082
5 Pierfrancesco Chili (Ita) Ducati 39:51.836
6 Leon Haslam (Gbr) Ducati 39:55.632
7 Troy Corser (Aus) Petronas 39:55.805
8 Chris Walker (Gbr) Petronas 40:11.950
9 Garry McCoy (Aus) Ducati 40:19.812
10 Warwick Nowland (Aus) Suzuki 40:27.881
Final championship standings:
1 James Toseland (Gbr) 336pts
2 Regis Laconi (Fra) 327
3 Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) 299
4 Chris Vermeulen (Aus) 282
5 Pierfrancesco Chili (Ita) 243
6 Garry McCoy (Aus) 199
7 Steve Martin (Aus) 181
8 Leon Haslam (Gbr) 169
9 Troy Corser (Aus) 146
10 Marco Borciani (Ita) 130
Final constructors standings:
1 Ducati 530pts
2 Honda 289
3 Petronas 200
4 Kawasaki 129
5 Suzuki 101
6 Yamaha 89
MMIX
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