Source: Supplied.

The Superbike World Championship will reach its penultimate round of the 2015 season when Magny-Cours, France, hosts round 12 this weekend.

Last time out in Spain, Jonathan Rea became Great Britain’s fifth WorldSBK champion and the first from Northern Ireland, wrapping up the title in race one at Jerez with five races still remaining.

Naturally, the attention now turns to the season-long struggle for runner-up spot between Chaz Davies and Tom Sykes. There are just 22 points between Davies (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team) and Rea’s teammate Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team).

With 25 points available for race victory and a maximum of 100 still in play between now and the end of the season in Qatar, the pendulum could swing in either direction. Davies is the man with the momentum, having scored a highly impressive 140 of the last 150 points on offer from Laguna Seca, Sepang and Jerez, while Sykes has finished no lower than second for the past three years.

Things have settled down in the Manufactures’ race, too. Kawasaki needed to finish in the top eight in Jerez’s second race and it did, sealing the title for the all-green marque for the first time.

What of the fight for second? One looks to Ducati, as its advantage of 78 points over last year’s champions Aprilia is vast with only two rounds to go. Perhaps all will be looking over their shoulders for Yamaha, which will rejoin the paddock in 2016.

A notable question mark on the Magny-Cours line-up lingers over the second Aruba Ducati bike. Michele Pirro substituted for Davide Giugliano in Jerez, but Davies’ teammate for the Fassi French Round is yet to be named. Elsewhere, Crescent and Suzuki head into their penultimate round of partnership as Markus Reiterberger returns as a One Event rider on the VanZon Remeha BMW.

The Spanish Round of the 2015 Supersport World Championship will forever be remembered for the heavy crash that ruled Jules Cluzel out of contention this year. The Frenchman (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) sustained a broken left leg and dislocated right shoulder when he crashed in the final seconds of Free Practice 2.

That leaves two riders in contention for the crown this year. Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) is the favourite; fresh from his pole position and victory in Spain, the three-time title winner of 2007, 2010 and 2012 leads New Yorker PJ Jacobsen (CORE’’ Motorsport Thailand) by 33 points with a maximum of 50 left on offer this season.

This means a top two finish would automatically seal the title for Sofuoglu and, even if the Turk fails to finish the race, Jacobsen must still finish at least seventh to keep his hopes alive.

What cannot be decided at Magny-Cours is the Manufactures’ title. This will rage onto into the floodlit finale of Qatar. Kawasaki currently leads MV Agusta by eight points and Honda by 17, which means a triangular shootout is still on the cards.

Magny-Cours has been on the World Supersport calendar since 2003. Back then, Karl Muggeridge led home fellow Australian and that year’s world champion Chris Vermeulen, while last year Jules Cluzel beat title winner Michael van der Mark by a massive 20 seconds.