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The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship reaches the most decisive moment of the season: the next round of 2018 is at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours and several champions will be determined. Here are the riders who could leave the French track with a trophy in the bag.

In the premier class, the chances of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) taking his fourth consecutive WorldSBK crown at the Acerbis French Round are very high. After securing a third consecutive double at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, the rider from Northern Ireland will have his first match point in France, the final European date on the calendar. Rea faces Round 11 with an astonishing 116-point advantage over Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) – second in the standings – with just six races left; if the KRT rider can leave France with a 100-point advantage in the standings, he will become a four-time champion.

Kawasaki could also claim its fourth consecutive manufacturers championship at Magny-Cours. The Japanese marque currently sits on 445 points, 73 more than Ducati in second and the only constructor that can avoid or delay another win for the green machines.

In WorldSBK there is a chance that Magny-Cours will not see a new champion crowned. That is not the case for the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship and the European Superstock 1000 Championship. With no conclusive results at Portimao, the title chase in both series will need to be decided at the last round.

Ana Carrasco (DS Junior Team) was unable to finish amongst the front riders at Portimao, but her tenth position allows the Spanish rider to roll into France at the top of the standings and with a 10-point advantage over Scott Deroue (Motoport Kawasaki), the Nolan Portuguese Round race-winner. Mika Pérez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) and Luca Grunwald (Freudenberg KTM WorldSSP Team), 18 and 22 points behind Carrasco, respectively, could also claim the title at Magny-Cours, although their chances are slimmer.

In STK1000, Markus Reiterberger (alpha Racing-Van Zon-BMW) will have the opportunity to round off a fantastic season by taking the European title at the last hurdle. The German was third at Portimao, a result that was insufficient to close his title win then. Momentum will still be on Reiterberger’s side in France however, as he arrives with an 18-point advantage over Roberto Tamburini (Berclaz Racing Team) and 19 more than Maximilian Scheib (Aprilia Racing Team), his two closest rivals throughout the year.

The FIM Supersport World Championship Is the one title that will certainly remain vacant after Magny-Cours. After a drama-filled race in Algarve, Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing) extended his advantage over Jules Cluzel (NRT) to 16 points. Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) and Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) sit just 20 points off the German championship leader, however. Anything could still happen in the action-packed series – Argentina and the brand new San Juan Circuit, or Losail in Qatar, will determine who leaves 2018 as the WorldSSP champion.

Don’t miss the Acerbis French Round from 28-30 September! Watch as several new champions are crowned thanks to WorldSBK VideoPass.