In motor racing, it is usually easy to recognize the champion. He's the man near (or in) the winner's circle, the guy with a crowd of friends, family, fans and sponsors around him, he'll be wearing that patented champion's smile. No, it usually isn't difficult to pick out the champion: he'll be holding up his number one plate, congratulating and being congratulated by his mechanics.

However, this season in World Superbike it may be a different story. It may be months before we know who the champion is.

With only three races remaining in the World Superbike Championship, the outcome is far from certain. Texan Colin Edwards on the Honda RC51 leads the series, followed by Aprilia's Troy Corser and Yamaha's Noriyuki Haga. Unfortunately, if Haga prevails, due to the aftermath of a positive drug screening, the winner will be decided by courtroom performances as much as those on the racetrack.

The million dollar question is what will happen if the case is not resolved before the season ends? How will this affect the championship?

Nori Haga has been the most consistent of the three men involved in the title hunt, but he lies third behind rivals Edwards and Corser. This is due to his well-publicized penalty after a drug test revealed he had taken a diet supplement not kosher with the IOC standards. The FIM docked Haga 45 points scored at Kyalami and suspended him for the infraction.

The urine sample Haga gave officials in the standard post-race session contained a higher than normal level of ephedrine. Ephedrine is a mild stimulant, but it has also been abused in the past by those attempting to mask the use of other, more serious drugs. Ephedrine is an ingredient in over-the-counter weight-loss supplements like Herba-Life and is also found in cough medicines.

The announcement of the result was bizarre. The world learned of Haga's irregularities via a Yamaha Europe press release. Almost without exception, a sport's sanctioning body, the FIM, announces drug test irregularities, this limits speculation and gives an air of being official. With Yamaha Europe making the announcements, one can only wonder what was happening behind the scenes.

Compare Haga's treatment to when AMA star Anthony Gobert failed a drug test at Laguna Seca two years ago. He was informed at the track that he had failed a drug test and there would be no appeal, and to kindly gather his things and leave the paddock ... Haga was allowed to appeal and allowed to race.

Haga, a former Suzuka 8-Hour winner, did not deny taking ephedrine. Haga has freely admitted he took a supplement called Ma Huang under the care of his physician during the off-season, an off-season in which he shed a considerable amount of weight. Ma Huang is a natural source of ephedrine and has been used for millennia as a medicinal product in China. Haga emphasized he took the drug under a doctor's care, and that he unknowingly broke the FIM's code.

Haga's world-wide fan base waited to see the outcome of a second test. This of a sample taken while at Kyalami and conducted by a lab of Haga's (and Yamaha's) choice. Unfortunately for Haga, this sample came back with even higher readings.

At Hockenheim, the FIM jury met and decided Haga's fate. The penalty was severe: a loss of his South African points (45 in total, for his win and a second place), a one month ban and his forfeiture of all trophies and winnings from the Kyalami race. Even the trophies!

Yamaha and Haga were upset with the severity of the penalty and the way the jury handled the case; they appealed the jury's ruling. Yamaha had hired a lawyer to represent Nori's interests, but Nori wasn't even present at the hearing due to FIM scheduling. Incredibly, Nori was on the track as the hearing was being held.

The results of that appeal upheld the points revocation, although the length of Haga's suspension would have allowed him back in time for the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hour race.

Just before Laguna Seca Yamaha and Haga then appealed to the CAS, a sporting court in Europe outside the FIM's mandate. This court will take some time to hear the case and make its ruling, maybe even after the season concludes.

Business as usual is the word from Yamaha officials at Laguna Seca after Haga had appealed his FIM appeal. The Yamaha star is being allowed to race while awaiting the CAS verdict. It is said Haga does his best to put the ordeal out of his mind while he is at the track, but such a huge distraction must have some affect.

So how will the court rule? That could depend on if the CAS takes a legal or technical approach to their decision.

A legal approach would probably end with Haga not being penalized. To be legally guilty, one needs to have intent to circumvent the rules. While no one can get inside Nori's head, clearly his doctors are at fault, assigning him a regime that included a substance on the banned list. It is highly doubtful Haga would willfully take a substance that may have some positive benefits, but has a greater risk of detection and a tremendous potential for embarrassment.

A technical approach would require Haga be found guilty. This decision says a racer is responsible for making sure his body does not take in any banned substance, no matter what the reasoning. Any level of transgression equals guilt. There is no gray area.

A third option would be for the jury to excuse Haga on the grounds of a technicality. We haven't heard the details of Yamaha's appeal, and the lawyers may convince the CAS there are some flaws in the FIM's case. In addition, compromise has a way of creeping into legal matters. An eleventh-hour deal could be struck. Haga's rival, Colin Edwards, has said that Haga should lose his points from South Africa and the matter closed.

How the court decides is anyone's guess at this point, but the championship probably lies in the balance.