WorldSBK bosses are working on trying to find ways of levelling the playing field and stopping a Kawasaki and Ducati dominated series in 2018.

There have been calls to penalise Jonathan Rea and Chaz Davies in order to assist the rest of the pack get somewhere near the podium but technical chief Scott Smart believes there are better options but it is not an easy process.

“If extra engines were allowed - as we have seen in previously in MotoGP in the past - for new machines or manufacturers that haven’t podiumed a race in the dry for a certain period then the financial impact for an official team is small but for a private team using the same brand of machine it could be impossible,” Smart told bikesportnews.com.

“With regard to specific bike parts it is hard as a decision must be reached as to what is a fair dispensation. For example, one team may choose a special engine part and another a different chassis. It is hard to be objective and fair.

“Equally there are large development costs for new parts and if the teams’ new results then meet the criteria for it the dispensation will be be removed. The performance is lost and money is wasted. A dispensation needs to be for a full season and if that bike then dominates, or at least wins often, is that also fair? Some ideas, like the use of a different tyre, is a change that is equal for all teams.”

There is a point of view that WorldSBK is the only relatively open series when it comes to engines and electronics, and that it should go back to be being exactly that.

“There are many points of view. Should a six-man team be competitive against a large factory team? Should an older machine be as fast as a new one? Should the racing come first? Should the best riders win or the best bikes – or even neither of those because of exception - all standpoints are valid,” added Smart.

“The regulations could be very open allowing enough changes to be nearer MotoGP level. All those changes would allow all brands to become equal – however most will be budget-limited long before that passes and it fully excludes privateer team involvement. There is a balance and we are looking at fair ways to find it.

“You should also ask yourself – if it was a one make series, bikes tyres everything – which teams and riders would win? It may not be that far different to now. Or maybe it would be…”