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The summer break is over and WorldSBK is entering the finishing straight of the 2016 season, but with four Rounds remaining there are still 200 points on offer. With that in mind, despite leading the Championship, Jonathan Rea can take nothing for granted in the coming weeks as he seeks to defend his title.

The Northern Irishman has been in sparkling form of late but a retirement in Race 2 at Laguna Seca left him entering the summer break on a sour note. However, he still holds all the high cards. Rea has claimed more race wins than anyone else this year and despite WorldSBK being hugely competitive between Ducati and Kawasaki in terms of outright pace, it has been Rea that has consistently been grinding out results.

Germany will however be a new frontier for many of the riders. The Lausitzring has not hosted WorldSBK since 2007 and of the current crop only Josh Brookes lined up on the grid that day, albeit in the Supersport class. As a result it will take time for riders to get up to speed with the German circuit, built inside an oval.

The Lausitzring is therefore a clean sheet of paper for everybody. Whether it's teams, riders, engineers, journalists nobody can say definitively what to expect. It's a great opportunity for someone to spring a surprise result and put the cat amongst the pigeons.

One team that will be looking to spring a surprise will be Yamaha. The team, like many, has spent two days testing in Lausitzring and should be able to be competitive from the outset. The challenge of racing a new bike is that for the first season you have to spend time learning and understanding each circuit, while a team like Yamaha, or indeed SMR run Milwaukee BMW, will arrive at each track with a base setting that allows them to build confidence the small changes needed to optimise settings take time. Having a two-day test in advance should iron out those issues.

For Alex Lowes, the return to WorldSBK action can't come soon enough. The Englishman enjoyed a successful summer break with a Suzuka 8 Hours victory and appearances at two consecutive MotoGP races in Silverstone and Misano, as a substitute for injured countryman Bradley Smith proving the highlights. Now, the recently turned 26 year old is back to the day job and looking to grind out results in the final quartet of rounds. Lowes has had an injury-plagued season and Suzuka was one of the few times when the potential of rider and bike has really fully come to the fore. The Suzuka specification machine is different to WorldSBK specification, but Lowes will be confident of carrying forward his eastern promise.

The usual suspects will be fighting it out at the front for the win, however. With a 46 point deficit Tom Sykes is now the only rider with a realistic chance of mounting a title challenge to Rea. The Kawasaki rider has been much stronger this year but his five wins have been punctuated by races off the podium. However, his recent run of form is very strong and maintaining that form after the summer break is crucial for the former champion.

On his day Sykes is an exceptional World Superbike rider and one of the best we've ever seen on the world stage. He can be dominant and devastatingly fast. Now though he has no margin for error in the final four rounds - if Sykes is to win the title he needs to win plenty of races in the coming two months.

There's still a title to play for in 2016 but time is running out for Sykes if he is to stop Rea retaining the crown. With the clock ticking down Rea's rivals will need to remember that if you come at the King, you best not miss....