Changes to the rules governing World Superbikes will be announced on Wednesday and, as has been well and truly leaked, rev limits will be the main change with Kawasaki being the prime target.

The Japanese factory, which on Sunday at Jerez, wrapped up the manufacturers championship for the third season in succession will see its top level, which has increased to 15,500 rpm in recent years, reduced.

Ducati, which like Kawasaki, is as near to being a factory team as you can get, has also suffered but to a lesser degree while teams like Pata Yamaha have been reduced by a mere 100rpm using a single calculation formula applied across all manufacturers.

Regulations on frames and suspension may also be relaxed provided any changes comply with whatever is achievable on production machines. Lower-order teams will be given more flexibility. The changes will be subject to review after every three meetings to check if the simple objective, of providing closer racing, is being achieved.

The other major proposal, enforcing a standard ECU in common with MotoGP and BSB, has not been introduced. Manufacturers could not reach common agreement with BMW being strongly opposed on the basis that their ECU, unlike many others, was the same as fitted on their road bikes and required only minor tweaks to be good for racing.

Series Executive Director Daniel Carrera said he was satisfied with the alterations, although admitting it had been a long and painful process, and he’s confident it will result in a much more competitive series in 2018.

He added: “But we a are looking to make bigger changes for 2019. They will be more than technical because we want to look at the format, the make-up of the weekend and we plan to survey our fans to hear what they would like.”

There will also be provision for the smaller teams to benefit from manufacturer development without it costing them the Earth.