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The long off-season is almost over and soon we'll have bikes back on track to kick WorldSBK 2016 into gear, with plenty of reason to believe that this could be another fantastic season.

Last year Jonathan Rea romped to a dominant first world title but the coming season looks set to be a much tighter affair. Rea relentlessly built his title lead in the first half of his title winning campaign last year on a record-breaking run, but with Tom Sykes having enjoyed a competitive winter it's clear that the internal battle at Kawasaki should be much more competitive this year and could reach boiling point at any time.

In the reigning champion's garage the tension has been clear for all to see over the winter, with shots fired from both sides to start off a war of words and the flames of their rivalry stoked further in recent days. With Rea having spent the winter trying to find his base setting and setting no headline grabbing times, the Northern Irishman said that the development of the all new ZX-10R had been led by Sykes.

In Australia, when Sykes was asked about Rea's comments over the winter, the Englishman said that it was a "cheap comment" aimed at Sykes and showed disrespect to the work that has been done on the bike. In testing, the Yorkshireman has been able to set fast times and said this week that he had been able to maintain tyre performance on his longer stints in testing: it’s clear that he is brimming with confidence.

While the atmosphere within the KRT garage may get heated in the coming months, that remains in stark contrast to the atmosphere within the paddock, which is filled with excitement and expectation. It's clear that the gap to Kawasaki has been closed by the rest of the field and we should have a much more competitive title fight this year.

Ducati were the only regular challengers to the Kawasaki dominance last year and the Italian squad are out to claim their first title since Carlos Checa in 2011. Chaz Davies looks primed and ready for a title charge after a superb second half of 2015 and the consistency that the Welshman is enjoying with Ducati, after three years with the same bike and team, is making a huge difference to his mindset ahead of the coming season.

Throughout testing, the confidence that he has displayed on his bike has been hugely impressive but far more important is how relaxed he seems. Feeling completely at ease within a team is a key element in any title challenge and Davies is raring to get the season started and put some pressure on the rest of the field.

In Australia, Davies shrugged off a sizeable crash on Monday and spent the second day of the test rebuilding his confidence, ensuring that all the boxes have been ticked ahead of the of the first round.

The return of Yamaha to WorldSBK is also significant for the championship with the all-new YZR-R1 on the grid likely to prove a race winner. Having won the British and American Superbike championships, not to mention the Suzuka 8 Hours last year, the bike is clearly quick and should be a real threat in the hands of Sylvain Guintoli and Alex Lowes.

Guintoli has said that he had wished to keep his powder dry this week and fly under the radar, but times in testing have been competitive and the bike has been easy on tyres throughout - a key ingredient for success at Phillip Island. Alex Lowes on the other hand has been working on adjusting his riding style to the bike and the Englishman wasn't too concerned about setting only the eighth fastest time of the week.

"I've had tests here in the past where I was really competitive but didn't score well in the race," said Lowes. "This week I've been working towards the race and making sure that we'll be competitive for the weekend."

Legend Nicky Hayden's departure from MotoGP was greeted with a huge outpouring of support shown to the 2006 World Champion and his move to WorldSBK has also been well received. The American will fly under the radar at times this year due to the competitiveness of the Honda, but when the bike is strong you can expect the American to be a contender.

Phillip Island could well be one of the rounds that suits Hayden and the Honda, as seen when teammate Michael van der Mark led the race last year, so the season could start strongly for the Kentucky Kid. Hayden has said that while this is his rookie season, it hardly feels like that.

"I've been riding bikes all my life and this bike is like every other," said Hayden. "It's got a throttle, brakes and tyres like everything else and you've got to figure out how to get around the track as quickly as possible!"

Going around the track as quickly as possible is the target for the field and with a 14 round calendar, seven manufacturers on the grid this year and six World Champions, everything points to WorldSBK being set for one of the most exciting seasons in memory!