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Imola is one of motorsport’s historic venues and has played host to some of the most incredible races across a variety of disciplines. The circuit was built in 1953 and following the death of Dino Ferrari it was renamed the the Autodromo Dino Ferrari in honour of Enzo’s son Dino, who died aged 24, and has since seen Enzo’s name inscribed alongside that of Dino.

While Imola is also known for other motorsports, there has always been a rich motorcycling history at the venue. WorldSBK first came to the track in 2001 but the following year saw perhaps the most famous WorldSBK race of all-time: Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss went toe to toe for the Championship with the American coming out on top.

It was a tension filled weekend with all the marbles to play for and both riders put on a great show for the Italian crowd. While the Championship isn’t on the line this weekend, there’s still plenty at stake.

Jonathan Rea, a five times winner at Imola, has a commanding 45 point Championship lead over Chaz Davies. If the Welshman has any hopes of derailing Rea’s title defence, it is crucial that he comes away from Italy having closed that margin. Last year Kawasaki was probably the fastest package at Imola, and there’s little reason to expect the green machines to struggle this weekend but the Ducati should be competitive.

12 months ago Davide Giugliano claimed pole position and a podium on his return from injury, but Davies double retirement also clouded the potential of the machine. The weather conditions worked against Davies in Assen and Rea was able to take maximum profit from his double success but, if there is a level playing field at Imola, we should see a great scrap between the top riders in the championship.

Tom Sykes has now fallen 59 points adrift of his Kawasaki teammate, and the former World Champion has nothing to lose. “Mr Superpole” clearly has the pace to contend with Rea but the metronomic consistency of the Champion places a huge strain on his rivals. In Assen, we saw a rare crack from Sykes with his Race 1 crash but he should bounce back stronger this weekend. Having claimed a double win en route to his title in 2013 he can’t be discounted in Imola.

The intra team battle at Kawasaki has flashed at times this year, with Chang and Aragon suiting Sykes and allowing him to fight with Rea. In Assen, Sykes had good potential but never quite realised it. This weekend he will need to race free from the shackles of the Championship and compete with Rea. It’s often said that the best athletes in the world can compete as if there is nothing on the line when everything is on the line, and Sykes will need to bring that relaxed approach into battle at Imola to challenge Rea and Davies, otherwise his title chances are most certainly dented before mid-season.

The weather could however make things very interesting. Rain is forecast for the weekend but the expectations of the conditions have improved of late. There have also been strong winds blowing at Imola this week, but there hasn’t been winds of change in the WorldSBK paddock: Rea and Davies have been the favourites for every race this year, and there’s little reason to expect that to change this weekend at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.