The World Superbike Championship has been reduced to 12 rounds for the 2003 season after three events were dropped from the calendar.

There will be no race in Malaysia after a proposed event at Sepang was called off.

And two rounds pencilled in at venues to be confirmed were also cut from the final calendar.

News of the Sepang round being dropped will not be welcomed by four-times champion Carl Fogarty.

After failing to get his new team to the start grid this season, Fogarty had hoped for the Foggy Petronas team to race in Malaysia, oil company Petronas' home country.

The series will also start a week earlier than provisionally proposed after the opening round at Valencia in Spain was moved forward a week to 2 March.

World Superbike Championship 2003:

2 Mar: Valencia, Spain
30 Mar: Phillip Island, Australia
27 Apr: Sugo, Japan
18 May: Monza, Italy
1 Jun: Oschersleben, Germany
15 Jun:Silverstone, Great Britain
22 Jun: Misano, San Marino
13 Jul: Laguna Seca, United States
27 Jul: Brands Hatch, Europe
7 Sep: Assen Netherlands
28 Sep: Imola, Italy
19 Oct: Magny-Cours, France