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The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has visited the Sepang International Circuit since 2014 but with major changes to the track since last year's race there is the potential for some surprises this weekend.

WorldSBK has a rich history in Malaysia, with Sepang the third venue to have hosted the Championship. Johor and Shah Alam have also hosted races but the current venue has been one that has been met with universal praise. It's technical layout and challenging conditions have made this an instant favourite with riders but  major resurfacing could unsettle the running order.

Kawasaki and Ducati will rightly start the weekend as the favourites, but with the circuit having undergone major work, the opening day of practice will be a journey into the unknown for the teams and riders. Corners have been reprofiled, a new track surface laid and the challenge presented by the SIC could be very different in the opening sessions. With places in Superpole 2 up for grabs for the top ten after Friday's practice session, getting to grips with the changes will be paramount.

Teams that arrive with a solid base setting are at an advantage, but the new corner profiles will ensure that no rider arrives with a perfect setup. Over the course of the last year, Jonathan Rea and Chaz Davies have dominated by virtue of their ability to arrive at any round and know what to expect. The extensive changes will remove some of that advantage and put the field on a more even keel this weekend.

Leon Camier and the MV Agusta squad have been in great form this year. The Englishman is riding better than ever and the bike is clearly making lots of progress. Top speed and engine reliability is still a weaker point for the Italian marque but the sweet handling chassis is a clear threat at any track and while Camier may find race distance more challenging both races, he will expect to hit the ground running and should be a contender for Superpole 2 as a good starting point.

The progress made by Camier and MV has been a highlight of the opening five rounds of the season, but it's far from the only one. Honda and Aprilia have also impressed with Michael van der Mark claiming a pole position and finishing on the rostrum frequently. Lorenzo Savadori has also been strong and is growing in confidence. The Aprilia has historically been a strong package in Malaysia with the conditions playing to its advantage. The bike has a massive operating window in terms of the ambient and track temperature it is comfortable working in, and with Malaysia testing the machinery to the limit this could give Savadori an edge this weekend.

The Honda Fireblade is one of the machines on the grid that has done enough laps of Sepang to gather the kind of knowledge that should allow van der Mark and Nicky Hayden to arrive with a relatively prepared machine. Hayden has had to learn new tracks on two occasions so far this year, so arriving at a more familiar venue, even taking into account the changes made, will give the American some added confidence.

The Honda duo have shown promising speed this year and have both finished on the rostrum. The changes made to the bike over the winter have aided its top speed, and with two long straights Sepang is no longer a track for the team to fear. It would be little surprise to see both riders make it through to SP2.

The Yamaha is the newest bike on the grid and accordingly the Crescent run machines could have a tough task this weekend. With Sylvain Guintoli ruled out through injury, the fortunes of the team are left in the hands of Alex Lowes. The Englishman has shown promising speed this season but has made mistakes on opening laps to force him to recover in races. The single lap speed of the YZF-R1 has been impressive at times this season with front row starts, but in race trim their learning curve has seemed steeper.

The flowing nature of the majority of Sepang could play into the hands of the bike. Lowes will need to let the bike flow through the middle of the lap if he's to have a chance this weekend, but the long straights could prove more difficult. The Yamaha is a solid package but the team are still in the process of unlocking it's potential. Approaching the halfway point of the season, it's crucial to start making progress.

This weekend's race could be seen as a referendum of what to expect going forward. Kawasaki and Ducati are ahead of the field as it stands after Imola, but now it's crucial for the rest to close the gap and put the green and red bikes under greater pressure as they fight to close the gap once more.