A year ago at Portimao, American Tom Houseworth was a virtual unknown in the World Superbike paddock. He'd come to Portugal with Ben Spies with hopes of signing on to the Yamaha WSBK team. With no official or unofficial duties that weekend, Houseworth sat in the Portimao press room with the media dweebs in order to pass time. No one, besides the US press, to seemed know who he was.

Fast-forward a year. Houseworth, Spies and Yamaha won fourteen races and the World Superbike championship. And now everybody in WSBK knows who he is.

"It was an amazing year," Houseworth said today from Portugal. "The team were amazing, the bike was good and of course Ben was amazing. I still think his run of thirteen Superpoles was one of the maybe least recognized yet amazing things about the season."

Did it feel any different to wake up this morning with the knowledge that your bike and your rider won the world championship? "Not really," says Houseworth. "It's just another day right now and like I told Ben it'll probably all sink in later." Houseworth and Spies had added strength this season with the addition of Greg 'Woody' Wood from their old Yoshimura squad.

With so much to celebrate after a drama-filled season, one wonders what time Houseworth and his crew were able to get to sleep last night. Did they party until the sun started to come up?

"No," Houseworth said, "we were in bed by 10:30."