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With six rounds of the FIM Supersport World Championship gone and seven more to go, the complexion has suddenly changed. Two-time champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki DeltaFin Lorenzini) is making a break from the chasers after the recent Misano round, where he became the first rider to win two races in 2012.

His second win of the season put him 22 points ahead of new second place rider Jules Cluzel (PTR Honda) as Sam Lowes (Bogdanka PTR Honda) was ruled out of the points scoring positions at Misano after hitting machine problems and then falling.

Taking nothing away from the obvious class and statistics leading performances of Sofuoglu, the season is by no means over yet. Lowes is 30 points behind right now and former champion Fabien Foret (Intermoto Step Racing) is 43 points adrift - but there are still 175 points available for any rider who wins all the remaining races.

So far five riders have won a race. Sofuoglu's victories in Australia and Misano bracket the season so far, with Foret the second winner in Imola, one-off rider Lorenzo Lanzi (PRORACE Honda) splashing to a wet win at Assen, and Cluzel scoring his first victory in round four at Monza. Lowes took a popular home win at Donington before a mini-break in the season, and before Sofuoglu put in another great performance at Misano. Kenan has been only off the podium once, when injured and then excluded from the results at Imola in round two.

The competition on paper right now is a straight fight between the top two Hondas and top two Kawasaki riders, but in reality the opportunities for riders on Yamaha and Triumph machinery are just as great. In only six races nine different riders have posted podium finishes - all those aforementioned plus Alex Baldolini (Power Team by Suriano Triumph), Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Racing Products Honda), Ronan Quarmby (PTR Honda) and Vladimir Leonov (Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha).

The podium count per manufacturer stands at Honda nine, Kawasaki seven, and Yamaha and Triumph with one each.
In terms of pole positions Honda riders have been hogging all the pre-race limelight, with Parkes (one), Lowes (four) and Cluzel (one) scoring best in qualifying.

How all these statistics and the balance of power between riders, teams and manufacturers changes in the next few months cannot be predicted. Not in such a close category with a history of upset and change. The one constant we can expect to see is tooth-and-nail competitive spirit all the way from first to last place.