DANNY KENT faces the most important fortnight of his life, beginning in Japan this weekend.

Tetbury’s Kent, lines up for the Motul Grand Prix on Sunday at the 2.983 mile Motegi circuit with a chance of clinching the Moto3™ World Championship.

Lifting the title would end 38 years of heartbreak for British grand prix motorcycle racing fans.

No British rider has won a world championship since the legendary Barry Sheene took the second of his 500cc world titles in 1977.

Kent, riding the Leopard Racing Honda, holds a 55-point lead in the championship over 17-year old Italian Enea Bastianini after they both crashed in separate incidents on the last lap of a dramatic previous round at Aragon in Spain.

Kent’s first ever grand prix win came in Motegi three years ago. He has four more races to clinch that historic title and it will almost certainly be settled in the next two weeks, with races in Australia and Malaysia following Japan on successive weekends.

The winner of each race claims 25 points, the runner-up 20, descending to a single point for 15th place.

The following scenarios would result in Kent taking the world championship in Motegi this weekend: • If Kent wins the race (25pts) and Bastianini finishes no higher than 11th (5pts).

• If Kent finishes second (20pts) and Bastianini fails to score any points.