Preview - Imola.

As the 17th season of World Superbike approaches its penultimate round At Imola there has never been quite so much at stake, for quite so many riders.

Any one of six top competitors have a mathematical chance of the title but, in more realistic terms, four riders will be contesting the final two rounds with full expectations of winning the title.

New technical rules for 2004, making all engine configurations more competitive, plus the adoption of a single tyre supplier, have been the prime factors behind this most closely contested of seasons.

The 4.933km Imola circuit hosts World Superbike for the fourth time this year and the city centre parkland circuit has been the scene of some breathless SBK action in each of those years.

The fast and flowing nature of the venue, combined with the undulations laid out by Mother Nature mean that even the proliferation of speed calming chicanes do little to hamper the riders' high overall pace around the lap.

With lap times over 160kmph on average, Imola is one of the fastest on the calendar and rated as a true rider's circuit - where the machine performance is important but always secondary to the input of the rider.

Such has been the keen competition in SBK this season that the championship battle features four riders within a mere 14 points between each other.

With a total of 100 points up for grabs for any who can win the final four legs of the championship, first of all at Imola and the final round at Magny Cours in France, there are no certainties at this point.

Ductai Fila rider Regis Laconi lost his championship lead to his team-mate James Toseland at the previous Assen round, but the French ace still sits in third place overall, only ten points from Englishman Toseland.

Imola is almost a 'home' race for both factory Ducati riders, as Imola is a short Autostrada blast away from the Ducati Fila team's headquarters in Borgo Panigale, Bologna.

With the vociferous 'Ducatisti' in attendance Imola will be its usual cauldron of crimson banners on raceday. Each factory rider has an individual reason to feel confident for Imola, with Laconi the only current SBK rider to have won at the venue, while Toseland's resurgence gave him a win at the most recent 2004 SBK event in Assen.

SBK rookie Chris Vermeulen on the four cylinder Ten Kate Honda has consistently belied his relative Superbike inexperience and trails Toseland by only three points, 255 to 252. With the reigning World Supersport Champion having an unquestioningly spectacular impact in the premier class, another new SBK star has been born.

Vermeulen's current championship position is also a remarkable achievement for both his Ten Kate Team, which also made the jump to Superbike this year, and the new-for-2004 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, in its first season of international competition.

Raising their game at every crossroad they have come to so far, the Ten Kate trinity of rider, team and four-cylinder machine have scored a quartet of impressive wins so far.

Renegade Ducati's Noriyuki Haga currently lies fourth in the championship, 14 points from Toseland, but he is nonetheless holder of a 2004 winning record the envy of all except Laconi, with five full-pointers under his belt so far. Fully in the hunt, Haga is the most experienced of all the current championship contenders, but has yet to win a Superbike race at Imola.

PSG-1's Pierfrancesco Chili has had a typically eventful season so far in SBK, with a single race win on his hybrid 998/999 machine, five DNFs in total and arguably more column inches in the media than any other single rider.

The local hero, 40-years-old and in his 22nd year of senior racing competition, may be a remote 42 points from the lead at present, but at Imola, riding a wave of local emotion, he could perform in a fashion that sometimes only Chili can. A rider with an even more up-down season than Chili is Xerox Ducati's Garry McCoy.

A single race winner at Phillip Island, McCoy has taken only two further podiums, despite his best efforts and a dramatic tail steering style. At a fast track like Imola, McCoy could find things going his way, despite being surrounded by Superbike's best exponents.

Troy Corser and Chris Walker have posted some impressive results on the 900cc, three-cylinder Petronas FP-1, a unique machine in its own right. Corser has taken a second place and Walker a third, but each will be out to make their ultimate mark before the season reaches its denouement at Magny Cours on October 3.

Among riders looking for their first ever SBK wins, at Imola or elsewhere, are Leon Haslam, team-mate to Haga, and Steve Martin aboard the DFX Ducati. Each has podium finishes, but that elusive win has yet to be attained.

Other top Superbike privateers out on force at Imola will be the Bertocchi Kawasaki duo of Mauro Sanchini and Ivan Clementi, with Suzuki represented by the privately entered Zongshen team from China, running hired guns Warwick Nowland and Piergiorgio Bontempi. Martin's DFX Ducati team-mate Marco Borciani is another in the frame for a good result.

Ducati 999 and 998 series machines proliferate in the privateer ranks, and in addition to the usual slew of regular SBK combatants, there will be several local riders running locally sponsored machines. In addition to the usual suspects, such as Giovanni Bussei, Gianluca Nannelli, and Lucio Pedercini, there will be wildcards aplenty, plus the fascinating induction of an MV Agusta machine, in the hands of Andrea Mazzali.