WSBK preview: Magny-Cours

The penultimate round of the 2014 Superbike World Championship will take place this weekend (October 4-6) at Magny-Cours. The stakes are high as series leader Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) heads to France with a 31pt advantage with Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia).

Sykes is looking to return to his previous winning form to seal what would be his second title in a row after being a little bit on the back foot at Jerez, where he struggled to keep the pace with the two factory Aprilias of Guintoli and Marco Melandri.

Last year, the 29-year-old Sykes dominated in France by taking pole position, winning both races and setting the fastest lap in each of the two encounters. In 2012, Sykes won the second race on the 4.411km circuit located in the heart of France -- only to miss the ultimate price by half a point.

Guintoli came out victorious in wet conditions at Magny-Cours two years ago in race one, while in 2013 he crossed the line second and third. On his home track he has never finished below sixth and has always stepped onto the podium in the last two editions of the French round.

Last time out at Jerez, Guintoli missed a great opportunity to further narrow the gap to the top as he was twice edged out for the win by Melandri. The Italian rider currently sits fourth in the standings, 18pts away behind third-placed Jonathan Rea (Honda). The Ulsterman, who was fourth and fifth in the two Spanish races, stepped onto the podium at Magny-Cours in 2009 and 2012.

With two rounds left, many riders are looking for a strong performance to improve their position in the overall standings. Local rider Loris Baz (Kawasaki) and the Ducati factory duo of Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano are yet to step atop the podium this year and have never made it into the top three at Magny-Cours before, so the French round will be very important for all three riders.

Suzuki will face the penultimate round with both sides of the garage knowing their 2015 plans. Eugene Laverty is officially heading to MotoGP, while rookie Alex Lowes recently agreed to extend his partnership with the squad for one more year.

MV Agusta Reparto Corse’s Claudio Corti and Team Hero EBR’s Geoff May and Aaron Yates will have another chance to improve their performance as the season enters the final stretch. A second MV Agusta F4 RR will be run by the Dream Team Company and ridden by 27-year-old Nicolas Salchaud.

The EVO class sees David Salom (Kawasaki) with one hand on the trophy having a  41pt lead over Niccolò Canepa (Ducati), while local riders Jeremy Guarnoni (Kawasaki) and Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad) are third and fourth respectively with a lot of ground to make up in the standings. However, expect them fighting to uphold their honour at home.

Australia’s Bryan Staring (Kawasaki) will also continue his EVO campaign.