Championship leader Mike Jones has beaten second-placed Daniel Falzon in every race of the five round series so far, but that statistic is only half of the story. The time gap between the two riders has closed to such an extent that Falzon hopes to turn the tables at Symmons Plains.

‘‘We’ve gone from 20 seconds behind at the first round to 14 seconds behind at the second, down to just one second last time out,’’ he said.

‘‘I came along to Symmons Plains with the goal of getting pole position. Being my debut year on a Superbike, I had no expectations I’d be going this well already.

‘‘I like Symmons Plains and raced the 600 here a few years ago, but Superbike is a whole new ball game. The Superbike has about 70hp more that the 600 and you come up to the corners much quicker.

‘‘You come out of the hairpin about 60km/h and in a few seconds you’re going around the right-hand sweeper on the back straight nearly flat out at 260km/h — it’s a pretty special feeling.’’

Jones too is a fan of Symmons Plains.

‘‘It has a good mix of high- and low-speed corners and is quite technical, a good challenge to your ability,’’ he said.

‘‘The racing this year’s getting closer and closer, so it should be really exciting this weekend. I’m really looking forward to it.’’

Jones is well aware that with a lead of 29 points with two rounds remaining, the championship is his to lose.

‘‘I’m focused on doing the best I can here at Symmons Plains and would love to finish the championship with a clean sweep of race wins,’’ he said.

‘‘But I have to keep in mind that I have to finish each race to ensure I have enough points to wrap it up.’’

Today’s Superbike action includes two qualifying sessions, a superpole top-10 shoot-out and racing in four of the support classes.

FAST FACTS

WHAT: Australian Superbike Championship round 4.

WHERE: Symmons Plains

WHEN: September 4-6 (from 9am)

HOW MUCH: Adult: $20 a day (Saturday and Sunday), concession $10, under-15s free