Who doesn’t love Michael Rutter? Be honest. He’s pretty ace, isn’t he? I don’t think I heard anyone else’s name being shouted by the crowd at Brands Hatch on Sunday, but middle-aged men were passionately and vocally willing on the unassuming 38 year old. I think that’s his appeal: he’s such an unlikely frontrunner, for British Superbikes or any other series really.

Rutter didn’t get carried away by the crowd’s encouragement though, instead doing what he always does: ride the bike fast, but not beyond what it’s capable of. So he didn’t pick up any wins, but he was on the podium for all three of the weekend’s races. That netted him the third highest points tally of the meeting, behind the visiting Tom Sykes and new championship leader Ryuichi Kiyonari.

Form has fluctuated over the course of the season for all the championship contenders, and that’s something I intend to return to.

But with only the second meeting at Cadwell Park to go before we enter the Showdown, Rutter is definitely one of the men on the up. If you take just the last three meetings, only Kiyonari has scored more points than Rutter. Compare that to the first three meetings of the season, after which Rutter was 6th overall, and Kiyonari 8th.

Another factor which occurred to me over the weekend was that the Showdown, which decides the championship, is played out over three meetings in September and October. You could argue that rain is more likely in the autumn than over the summer – might that play into the hands of someone like, ooh, Michael Rutter?

Rutter insists that he’s good in all conditions, and isn’t just a rain master. That’s true, but it’s also true that a lot of other riders struggle more in the rain than Rutter does.

It’s tempting to think that a rainy final round at Oulton Park – which doesn’t seem implausible in the north of England in October – could just sway the championship in favour of Rutter. How great would that be?