kenny Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/72588 That leaves 17 bikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRed05 Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feffman Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Maybe they'll go to WSB! Feff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenny Posted December 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Hopper and Marco? I hope not. I'd like to see Hopper back on a Zuk, not going Jihad on it this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 There will be almost no 'top' level auto racing in 2009. It's just a matter of when enough teams from each series announce their withdraw for 2009 for that particular series to go 'dormant' for 2009. Everything's changing. Welcome to the global economy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenny Posted January 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 Maybe some good news: Could Aspar Save Kawasaki? Submitted by Kropotkin on Fri, 2009-01-02 14:46. in John Hopkins Kawasaki Marco Melandri MotoGP The official announcement of the demise of Kawasaki's MotoGP effort has not even been made yet, but already, it would seem to have a saviour. Italian sports daily Gazzetto dello Sport is reporting that since the news broke of Kawasaki's imminent withdrawal, Jorge Martinez, the man behind the Aspar team which dominates 125 and 250 racing, has been hard at working trying to take over the team from Kawasaki. Martinez says he was contacted by Dorna a couple of days ago, and since then he has spent all his time on the phone, despite being on a family vacation. The deal which Dorna, Martinez and Kawasaki are trying to put together according to Gazzetto dello Sport would involve Martinez taking over the team at no cost to the Spanish former racer. The reasons for this apparent generosity on the part of Kawasaki have little to do with altruism, however. According to the Italian daily, Kawasaki has a contract with Dorna to compete in MotoGP until the end of 2011. If Kawasaki were to pull out before that time, then they would be hit by a fine number "millions of dollars" for breach of contract. And as Kawasaki have already invested some 6 million dollars in next year's bike, they have little to lose by handing the whole project over to Aspar, and would avoid the penalty by providing engineering support to the privateer team, whilst Aspar bears the day-to-day costs of running the team, again saving Kawasaki a large amount of money. Contracts with riders and team crew have already been signed, and this is money Kawasaki would have to pay anyway. Dorna, for their part, have a vested interest in keeping the Kawasakis on the grid: The Barcelona-based organizers of MotoGP have in turn a contract with the FIM, the governing body of motorcycle racing, which guarantees a minimum of 18 riders if the series is to retain the status of a world championship. What's more, the loss of face for Dorna would be immeasurable if a major manufacturer were to withdraw in the very season when two new manufacturers (BMW and Aprilia) entered World Superbikes, with another (KTM) waiting in the wings. With the big ticket items covered, Aspar should be able to cover the basic costs of the team, especially given the considerable sponsorship from Monster Energy, who had signed a deal to support Kawasaki for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. The Monster millions would also mean that Marco Melandri's seat at Kawasaki is likely to be safe. If Aspar were to take over the Kawasaki team, the Monster money would ensure that John Hopkins - who is linked personally to the deal - will retain his seat. But Aspar's previous attempts to run a Kawasaki in 2009 foundered on the insistence of his Valencian sponsors that the team field a Spanish rider, whilst Kawasaki demanded that the team give Shinya Nakano a ride. With the money mostly covered, Aspar's Spanish sponsors would no longer be the main investor in the team, and Melandri would keep his ride. Jorge Martinez, Aspar boss, told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he is keen to keep the Italian. "The rider question is not a priority at the moment. I certainly wouldn't have any problem with Melandri. He's a rider that I've always been very impressed with." Though the article talks of Aspar taking over the Kawasakis, no mention is made of the team. What would happen to Michael Bartholemy and the rest of his Venlo-based crew is unclear, though putting together a team to run a two-rider MotoGP team from scratch in January is likely to be difficult at the very least. The most likely scenario is that Martinez would take over the team lock, stock and barrel, taking over the role as nominal head of the team. Just how current team manager Michael Bartholemy would fit into the whole equation is unclear, and the Belgian is the most likely casualty of the whole deal. The elephant in the room in all these discussions is of course the question of bike development. Last season, the Kawasaki was by far the weakest bike on the grid, and a huge amount of development was going to be needed to get the bike anywhere near competitive. It's highly unlikely that the 2009 ZX-RR is ready to take on the Ducati and the Yamaha, and if no development is done during the season, Melandri and Hopkins would fall further and further behind. So any handing over of the team to Aspar would not acquit Kawasaki of the necessity to keep trying to improve the bike. Though handing over the entire project to Martinez and his Aspar team may save Kawasaki a considerable amount of money, there could still be hidden costs along the way. For now, though, we await an official announcement from Kawasaki. On Monday, we should know more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenny Posted January 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Well, they're out, but the bikes are in. Latest News Official: Kawasaki Out - But Bikes To Remain? Submitted by Kropotkin on Fri, 2009-01-09 11:54. in John Hopkins Kawasaki Marco Melandri Dorna MotoGP After weeks of speculation, finally an official announcement has been made. Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced that it was officially pulling out of MotoGP. All the rumors and hopes of Dorna somehow being able to put together a deal have come to nothing: the economic situation is too bleak, with no hope of relief in the immediate future, for Kawasaki to be able to justify the necessary investment. But for those with a penchant for exegesis, the news is not quite as dark as it may seem. The official statement (shown below) says that Kawasaki will "suspend its factory MotoGP racing activities from 2009." The two key words there are "suspend" and "factory". For it looks like there will still be 19 motorcycles on the MotoGP grid. The main speculation in the press is that Jorge Martinez is still looking to run the team for 2009, but there are good reasons to doubt this is the case. The Spanish manager of the Aspar team had previously told reporters that a commitment to developing the MotoGP bikes and a three-year deal were the minimum requirements if he was to get involved in running the team, and that is very clearly missing from this statement. The Italian website GPOne.com is reporting that it will not be Martinez, but current manager Michael Bartholemy who will be running the team. Under the alleged deal, Bartholemy would be given the Kawasaki ZX-RRs, together with a guarantee of spare parts and a maintenance agreement which would mean that Kawasaki would rebuild the engines sent back to Akashi by the team. However, development on the bike would effectively cease, and as the bike in its current state is basically a slightly revamped version of the totally uncompetitive 2008 bike, the chances of it being a perennial backmarker are substantial. Below is the official press release issued by Kawasaki: 09/01/2009 - For Immediate Release KAWASAKI PRESS RELEASE Tokyo, January 9, 2009 -- Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. announced today that it has decided to suspend its factory MotoGP racing activities from 2009 season. Amid quickly changing business environment, Kawasaki has been promptly taking countermeasures to cope with the situation. As the world economy is not likely to recover in a short period due to the major impact of the financial crisis, Kawasaki decided to suspend its MotoGP racing activities from 2009 season onward and reallocate management resources more efficiently. Kawasaki will continue racing activities using mass-produced motorcycles as well as supporting general race-oriented customers. Kawasaki would like to thank all the fans and all those who have forwarded us great help. Mr.Yoshio Kawamura, the Managing Director of Kawasaki Motors Racing B.V. deeply appreciates the contribution and the dedication brought by staff members of the MotoGP team. Source: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/72680 http://www.gpone.com/news/News.asp?NNews=3275 http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=35303 Login or register to post comments Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenny Posted January 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Scratch that. Kawi is out. No Kawasakis On The Grid In '09, Says Kawasaki Submitted by Kropotkin on Fri, 2009-01-09 22:45. in John Hopkins Kawasaki Marco Melandri MotoGP In the turbulent times which MotoGP is passing through, the first casualty is truth. Throughout the Kawasaki saga, rumors persisted in the Italian press that any deal which kept Kawasaki bikes on the grid would leave them in the hands of Jorge Martinez, head of the Aspar team. After Kawasaki announced its official withdrawal from MotoGP, speculation continued that Aspar would get the Kawasaki bikes, despite that deal looking much further from reality. Now, the Dutch website Motorfreaks.nl is reporting that Kawasaki have categorically denied the rumors that Aspar would field the former factory Kawasakis in a private team structure. What's more, Kawasaki say that there will be no Kawasakis at all in MotoGP in 2009. "As soon as the economic situation improves, we definitely intend to return to the MotoGP arena, but for next season, there will be no Kawasakis in MotoGP. Consequently, there's no truth in the rumors that Martinez would be running our bikes," Kawasaki told Motorfreaks. As for the fine for breach of contract which Kawasaki will incur by pulling out before their contract ends in 2011, the Akashi factory is still in talks with Dorna. "This won't affect our decision to withdraw from MotoGP, however," Kawasaki said. http://www.motorfreaks.nl/sportnieuws/kawasaki-vertrekt-definitief-uit-m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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