Yoshi Muroya
(Currently 59 points with 3 wins, 1 third, 1 sixth, 2 thirteenths)
The only pilot with three wins so far this season, Muroya is in a strong position only four points behind Šonka. But if he finishes lower than 7th place at the speedway, his chance for the championship is gone.
Pete McLeod
(Currently 56 points with 0 wins, 3 seconds, 1 third, 1 fifth, 1 seventh, 1 tenth)
McLeod has been on the podium four times in 2017, more than any previous season in his career. To take the title for Canada, he must add one more race podium to that tally... and get a little help from his rivals.
Kirby Chambliss
(Currently 52 points with 2 wins, 2 fourths, 1 sixth, 1 eighth, 1 eleventh)
The odds are against the two-time titleholder, but another World Championship could still be on the cards if Chambliss finishes first or second and Lady Luck does the rest.
The 2017 season has kept everyone on the edge of their seats, with three pilots taking race wins and 10 collecting at least one podium. If you want to take a trip down memory lane, we’ve gone back to the archives to see how things looked at the critical point of every season so far…
Last year, in 2016,there was no stopping Germany’s Matthias Dolderer. His dominance was evident from the start of the season. He finished in the top two of every race, but one. Matt Hall was the closest to challenging Dolderer, but when the German won in Indianapolis (race seven) he took the title with the final round to spare – something that had never been done before.
It’s not been a great season for the defending champion, who has been off form all year. His best result so far in 2017 was a third place in San Diego… form which he hasn’t returned to as the season unfolded.
The top of the table has seen Sonka, Muroya and Chambliss feature, making the fight for the 2017 title exhilarating… and with this last race of the year upon us, we’ve also got Pete McLeod geared up for a win as well as Matt Hall finally finding his rhythm in his Edge 540…
It's not just the Master Class competition that's coming to a climax this weekend at the Holy Grail of Motorsport – the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Six pilots are flying here to make the most of the season, but only three have a chance of becoming the Challenger Cup Champion. Can Florian Bergér make it two wins in a row? Will the most successful pilot in the Challenger Cup, Daniel Ryfa, get his reward or will Luke Czepiela become the first Polish pilot to win
You can hear what the Challenger Class pilots had to say after their first taste of the Indianapolis track today...
And the last word from the Master Class pilots...
There's good vibes here and the air is alive with anticipation!
We have Free Practice happening at the moment with the six Challenger pilots about to wrap up proceedings...
The track has been slightly modified from 2016, with 19 gates flown in 2.5 laps... This means the Start and Finish Gate is different