World Superbikes announce rule changes to even out field, fans are divided

Kawasaki and Ducati have dominated the World Championship in recent years, with Jonathan Rea tying up his third title in a row at Magny-Cours in September, despite there being two rounds left.

The Kawasaki rider’s team-mate Tom Sykes is tied on 363 points with Ducati’s Chaz Davies, while Marco Melandri – also of Ducati - is in fourth going into the final round in Qatar next week.

These are the changes to the rules, as released in a statement by World Superbikes...

REV LIMIT: The balancing system using air restrictors has been replaced with a rev limiting system. The rev limit can be altered at various points throughout the season and applies to each individual manufacturer.

CONCESSIONS: A concession points system will be introduced to restrict engine development of the fastest machines. At certain stages in the season teams that have achieved fewer concession points will be allowed to introduce updated concession parts. As a secondary benefit, the private teams will get access to cost capped engine parts to help them reach performance levels similar to the factory supported teams.

FRONT AND REAR SUSPENSIONS AND APPROVED ENGINE PARTS: Price caps and approval processes have been applied to several key frame, suspension and engine parts. These are called approved parts. This process ensures access and availability to all parts for all teams along with controlled pricing

Eurosport's Greg Haines summed up what the rules mean in a nutshell...

There was a split on social media as to whether the rules were a good idea...

Many were not happy with the ideas, with some suggesting a switch to a British Superbikes model might work best...