WorldSBK boss Daniel Carrera last night introduced a three-race weekend format to the series and said it was important to keep the existing Saturday race, introduced in 2015.

Each WorldSBK weekend will now have long races on Saturday and Sunday with a sprint race on Sunday morning. Details on grid formations for the two Sunday races are yet to be confirmed.

"The main reason behind this new weekend format for next year is in line with our priority to offer our fans the  best possible package," said Carrera, speaking at the track.

"If we go back three years, when we had the last big change in format, we evaluated this period and reached the conclusion that this was a good move and we wanted to continue having a Saturday race.

"At the same time, it's also true that circuits after getting feedback from spectators, felt that comparing the existing format with the traditional format of Superbikes, they were missing action from the Superbike category.

"So with all this input, we started to work with the teams and we have managed to put everything together. We will still have a qualifying session on the Saturday morning but we need to see how many points will go to the Sprint race and the qualifying system for the two Sunday races."