A freeze on engine development and a rev limit have been announced as part of new technical regulations for the 2018 World Superbike Championship in a bid to make the series more competitive.
WorldSBK has come under fire this year after Kawasaki and Ducati dominated each race weekend for a third season in succession, leading to a decline in interest in the series.
Every race for the last two years has been won by either triple world champion Jonathan Rea or his team-mate Tom Sykes on a Kawasaki, or by Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri on the Ducati.
The Superbike Commission tried to partially rectify this by introducing a reversed grid format for the second race of a weekend this year, though this failed to stop either Ducati or Kawasaki from taking to the top step of the podium.
In a bid to reduce the performance deficit on the WorldSBK grid, the Superbike Commission has announced plans to introduce a concession points system for engine development.
Concession points will be awarded based on podium finishes in dry races, with a win totalling three concession points, second two and a third one.
A team which tallys up nine or less concession points than the those with the most will be allowed to introduce updates to the engine, while those leading will have development frozen.
On top of that, private teams will be allowed to use cost-capped engine parts from a manufacturer to bring their engine performance closer to that of the factory outfits. A similar system with engines has been in play in the MotoGP World Championship since 2014.
The engine components available to the private teams have been cost-capped, as have several parts to the chassis and suspension, granting smaller teams the same access to manufacturer parts as the top teams.
Also announced in the updated technical rules is the long-mooted introduction of a rev limit, which replaces the current air restrictor balancing system.
The rev limit can be adjusted throughout the season should a struggling manufacturer benefiting from it become more competitive.
