The 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship arrives in Argentina and the Circuito San Juan Villicum for the Motul Argentinean Round this week.

Lying at the foot of the Andes and in one of the most picturesque backdrops on the calendar, one question lies ahead: who will reach the peak in WorldSBK this year? Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) has the Championship lead by 24 points, ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), making Argentina his first match-point of the season. Rea aims to narrow the margin and keep the title race alive, but who knows what will happen in one of the most unpredictable seasons in the championship’s history.

Razgatlioglu can mathematically clinch the title this weekend due to his current points lead. In short, the Turk must lead by 62 points or more heading to Indonesia, even with count-back taken into consideration. He has 10 full race wins, compared to Rea’s current five so even if the Kawasaki man won the remaining four full races and it finished level, Toprak already has a that advantage in his pocket.

For the possibility of Pata’s front man clinching the title on Sunday, he must score one point more than Rea as a minimum in Saturday’s opening battle. That means if Rea wins Race 1, the title fight is guaranteed to go to Indonesia. In terms of San Juan form, Razgatlioglu took a second podium of his career in WorldSBK’s first race there in 2018 and took three rostrums in 2019. Teammate Andrea Locatelli has never seen this track, so it’ll be a totally new experience for him.

The defending six-time World Champion has won four of the five races held at San Juan and he’s been on the podium in all of them. Rea has momentum as despite crashing out of the lead twice at Portimao, he did manage to take victory in the final race whereas the Yamaha crashed due to a mechanical failure. The Ulsterman has a pivotal Saturday ahead - coincidentally Toprak’s birthday - as he goes to retain his crown, however, there’s yet to be confirmation that teammate Alex Lowes will attend, having been declared unfit after FP2 at Portimao. Will Lowes, if fit, be the perfect wingman in Argentina?

Waiting to pick up the pieces and vastly making up ground, Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Scott Redding is still in championship contention. 54 points back of the #54 of Razgatlioglu, on the podium in all of the last six races, and in eight of the last nine, Redding can’t be more than 61 points back of Razgatlioglu after Sunday. The Brit closed the gap by 20 points at Portimao and with the kind of form he’s in, he may be able to do more in Argentina, even if it is a new track for him. Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi can never be ruled out, even after tricky rounds at Jerez and Portimao. He’s never had a top 10 in Argentina but will need to perform if he’s to consolidate his top four in the Championship, which he shares with Locatelli; both on 249 points and eager to push on.

After a first win in eight years, BMW arrive in Argentina with plenty of reasons to smile. Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) stormed to a Superpole Race win in the wet at Portimao and was a solid top six contender all weekend. He’s now sixth in the standings, 38 points adrift of Rinaldi and Locatelli ahead of him. However, anything can happen; van der Mark’s last visit to Argentina resulted in him finishing fourth in the full races and then sixth in the Superpole sprint. On the other side of the box, Tom Sykes’ presence remains unknown as he’ll need to be declared fit. Eugene Laverty, his replacement in the last couple of rounds, has had a top five at the Circuito San Juan Villicum, and was seventh in his most recent race there in 2019.

It was a story of ‘what could’ve been’ for Honda at Portimao, with Alvaro Bautista once again showing podium potential. Unfortunately, the promise was left unfulfilled as the Spaniard crashed from third in the last corner of the last lap in race one before he was taken out by Loris Baz two laps from home in Suday’s conclusion. Bautista heads to San Juan with the same potential, and having won on his first visit to San Juan in 2019. With big gains and podium aims, Bautista is keen to make up ground in the standings and get more rostrums to his name. Then, there’s Leon Haslam, with the British rider going in search of back-to-back front rows for the first time since Aragon and Assen back in 2015. He’ll also hope to add his name to the podium this weekend, having been in the mix at Portimao.

The Independent battle is set to rage again as Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) aims to consolidate his lead position. Gerloff is eighth in the standings and just six points behind the factory Kawasaki of Alex Lowes. Behind Gerloff and keeping him in his sights, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) continues to be a revelation of recent rounds and will make his Argentina debut this weekend; he’s 24 points behind Gerloff, neither having been to the Circuito San Juan Villicum. With Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) hopeful of a return to action, he’s aiming to be competitive as he bounces back from injury; Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) will also debut in San Juan.

The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing squad have Tito Rabat for the Motul Argentinean Round as he too makes his San Juan debut, whereas Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) returns to a track where he took third back in 2019’s WorldSSP season. Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport – Yamaha) is next up and will make his first appearance at the track in WorldSBK, whereas home-hero Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado will be flying the Argentine flag high as he hopes to maintain his good form, having returned to the top eight in Portugal. Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) is out of the Motul Argentinean Round after his Portimao injuries, being replaced by Marco Solorza, the Argentine having raced in a variety of Championships from the FIM European Superstock Championship to the Spanish Superbike class. His teammate will be another Argentine rider; Luciano Ribodino debuts in WorldSBK, the 27-year-old being the 2017 Argentine Superbike champion as well as the Brazilian Superbike champion in the same year.

Five key stats ahead of the Motul Argentinean Round

170 - Kawasaki have a chance to get their 170th win this weekend. They took their 125th in San Juan too, back in the first ever race at the track in 2018.

11 - Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu are tied for season wins this year, with 11 apiece. This is only the third season with two riders winning at least 11 races after 2002 (Edwards 11 / Bayliss 14) and 2019 (Rea 17 / Bautista 16).

6 - Six riders climbed on the podium here: Jonathan Rea (5); Toprak Razgatlioglu (4); Marco Melandri and Alvaro Bautista (2); Xavi Fores and Chaz Davies (1).