Niall Mackenzie and Yamaha barely had a chance to try for a 4th championship in a row; Cadbury's withdrew their sponsorship at the end of 1998 and, while they at least managed to race thanks to a deal with Virgin just days before the first round, the team struggled to make the brand new YZF R7 competitive. The championship remained competitive - although most of the protagonists were Ducati riders - and with an unlikely overtake for the win at the final corner at Donington followed by the closest finish in the series' history at Oulton Park, 1999 produced several memorable races. Chris Walker, riding for Kawasaki, finished runner-up for the 3rd consecutive year behind Australia's Troy Bayliss who claimed Ducati's first title. The Privateers Cup also went to an Australian - Paul Young, whose partnership with Ray Stringer's team succeeded in developing their own Yamaha R7 enough to beat the Kawasakis of Dave Heal and Phil Giles.