As the World Superbike Championship prepares for its second visit to Laguna Seca in as many years for round nine of 2014, all eyes will be on current champion and series leader Tom Sykes in what could prove to be a crucial set of races for the Brit.

With a long break after the American round before Jerez on the weekend of Sept 7th, Tom will be eager to maintain his momentum and keep his rivals at arms length as he enters race one with a 43 point lead over Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli.

Race one on Sunday will be Tom’s 150th and having won the opener in his first visit to the Mazda Raceway in 2013, it’s perhaps unsurprising to learn that goes into it as the outstanding favourite.

The rain hit second race in Portimao was a slight glitch for Kawasaki’s glowing star and whilst the game plan was to finish the race and pick up any points available for damage limitation purposes, to say it was a nervy race for the Englishman was an understatement as he fell back to eighth, his worst finish of the season if you exclude the DNF in Sepang.

Having already claimed 11 podiums from 16 races this year including 7 wins, he quite rightly has a comfortable advantage in the standings, and in truth, It’d probably only take one more push for a double win at any of the remaining rounds to finish off his adversaries… but he’ll also be wary that a poor showing from Laguna and his handsome lead could easily be cut down in time for the summer break, a scenario he’ll be keen to avoid.

Taking Sykes out of the equation and you’ve got yourself a tasty little battle for second place simmering nicely. Aprilia’s Sylvain Guintoli is just four clear of fellow Frenchman Loris Baz on the Kawasaki and thanks to his race two victory in Portimao, PATA Honda rider Jonathan Rea closes in too and is just a solitary point behind Baz.

Before Portimao, Guintoli’s Aprilia team mate Marco Melandri was just about clinging on to a faint chance of being in the mix thanks to four consecutive podiums and the double win in Sepang, but having only managed a fourth in race one and a DNF in race two, miracles are required from the Italian who is now 92pts behind Sykes.

He was quite unfortunate to get taken out by his team mate in race two in Portugal as both Aprilia riders looked set to finish on the top two steps and eat into Tom’s lead overall but it only takes one tiny error and that could well turn out to be a significant moment in this years story.

If Guintoli is to fight for this crown, he needs to win races and quick. It sounds so simple but the last victory came in Assen which already feels like a decade ago. His compatriot Loris Baz in third has taken his riding onto a whole new level this year and at just 21, the future looks bright for him, but with no win at all this season, he’d need a collapse from his team mate to stand a chance here.

This would suggest that the only rider capable of rocking the Tom Sykes boat at present is Honda man Jonathan Rea. Four wins this season so far matches his previous best season in 2010 and if the bike plays ball, Jonathan fights for wins.

Unfortunately for him though, the team are starting a fresh page at each round with no base setting and although he’s done a remarkable job to keep himself in this title hunt, you have to feel that the machine might misbehave again between now and the end of the season.

So Tom is in pole position then but the above names won’t be the only riders fighting for trophies in Laguna Seca…

They may not have a chance to win the championship individually but there are signs that Ducati are making progress and not only were both Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano on the podium together in Portimao (Aragon 2012 was the last time two Ducati riders were on the same steps), the pair were very strong in the USA when we visited the circuit a year ago.

As for the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki team, Alex Lowes visits the venue for the first time but arrives with a couple of solid results secured from Portimao, and though a foot injury is clearly hampering Eugene Laverty, and speculation about his future gains thrust, he was a race winner here last season and is desperately looking to turn his ugly season around.

Jonathan Rea’s Honda team mate Leon Haslam didn’t have much fun at Laguna Seca last year but the experienced Englishman was unlucky not to podium in Portimao last weekend and looks in good shape. Keep an eye out for Leon Camier this weekend too. He replaces the injured Claudio Corti for the MV Agusta Reparto Corse squad.

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