GP needs what World Superbikes had....troy­ corser...arron slight....chilli.. and of course­ FOGGARTY......never was the sport so exciting when­ these men diced on the track...1996 was one of the best­ race years ever and it was nice to have a local boy­ dicing at the top

Followed by everyone I think

yorkchaser
wouldn't it be great IF rossi did go to­ wsb? haga biaggi etc all going for the win and­ meaning to take it real racing and a great spectacle­ for the fans
now that is some thing i would pay to go­ and see rossi going through paddock hill bend followed­ by haga? awesome

when you get major teams pulling out of sport you will­ end up with fans saying that so and so only won the­ championship because such and such wasn't there and­ it wasn't and it wasn't a full field of factory­ bikes .
it is a shame if kawasaki do pull out as i­ think they add some thing to the racing , although not­ a succesfull team in past decade or so they have a huge­ following just because there bikes are so good

Why would they scrap their motogp effort when they have­ just designed two new chasis's for Melandri and­ Hopkins to try out and a new re-designed engine and­ swing arm? They have also re-designed several other­ elements of their bike? Surely, if they were looking to­ save any cash they would have binned the heavily­ failing WSB teams and put more effort into BSB where­ they had previous success with Hawk Kawasaki? Kawasaki­ have also released reports showing a similar rate of­ finances and investment from the last four quarters­ (from October 2007- December 2008). So why the worry? I­ know that Yamaha have reportedly focused their­ attention on cutting the riders costs for 2009 and 2010­ by asking Rossi and Lorenzo to take paycuts of up to­ 50% each. Honda have also said they could field another­ bike within HRC colors direct from the factory to save­ atleast one rider if Kawasaki pull out. And, I should­ point out that Scott Honda parted company with the­ Italian HRC director at the end of the year (2008) so­ Melandri would be most likely to be saved. And Also,­ Suzuki wanted to run 3 bikes this year but couldn't­ find support, with Hopkins on Board, Redbull and­ Monster energy drinks woudl line up to support it...So­ why the worry?

I really feel for Marco & John. I hoped this year­ would be a turning point for Marco after the­ disasterous year he had at Ducati. I hope Kawasaki stay­ in and this is just a rumour!

IT IS A REAL SHAME THE GRID IS SMALL ENOUGH AS IT­ IS!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOOKS LIKE WSB IS WHERE ITS GONNA BE AT­ NEXT YEAR,
LETS GET JT BACK AND BRING VALE WITH HIM.

I wonder if Rossi's recent flirtation with WSB (he­ indicated he would love a wildcard ride way before the­ Baylis Vs Rossi thing) was foresite on his part.­ Perhaps he saw the clouds forming and is ready to jump­ ship if it all goes tits up in MotoGP?At this moment it­ seems that MotoGP is a house of cards ready to tumble­ at any moment. If Melandri ends up in WSB too,­ that's yet another feather in WSB's cap. WSB­ has been getting loads more press and coverage these­ last couple of years since the silly move to 800's­ in MotoGP, and the racing has been far better! WSB has­ an amazing grid in 2009. There are things to look­ forward to in MotoGP too, but anyone really think­ MotoGP is gonna be any better than it has been these­ last 2 years? I don't...

I really wouldn't believe everything you read in­ MCN.
The rumours have been flying for several days,­ unbelievable that MCN have only just picked up on it -­ then again they'd be the last place I'd look if­ I wanted up to date info/news. Motociclismo in Italy is­ a better bet for news.

yorkchaser, I just did and I'm gutted. They must­ have told MCN they were on the same budget as last year­ then the next day told the team that their out of Moto­ GP. Marco and Hopper have no ride that's a real­ bummer and Moto GP are the losers too. The grid will be­ small next year.

thinking aloud, would a team annual budget cap be a­ good idea? i've read average cost per team is circa­ £25m (not saying thats a fact!). Be interested is­ positive or negative feedback, worth a discussion?

Last thing MotoGP needs is a shrinking grid (coinciding­ with a swelling one in WSB) with even less teams and­ bikes. Still waiting to see Hopper on a decent bike -­ why he left Suzuki i'll never know (though it was­ probably money!)

"It's just a load of c..p, there not pulling­ out of Moto GP at all"

Really? Look at MCN's­ site, Hopper has already been informed...

I'm a fan of Fiat Yamaha Team,but any pull­ out,either by yamaha or any other teams,is not a good­ news.even if it's kawasaki,i don't want to see­ them pulling out.

Repsol Honda? Would that be the same Honda that are the­ most unloved - and in investment terms unsuccessful -­ team in the Moto GP paddock?

It's just a load of c..p, there not pulling out of­ Moto GP at all. Kawasaki have told motorcycle news that­ they have the same budget for next years racing as they­ had for this year. Looks like someones trying to make a­ story just so they have something to say, maybe they­ should try reporting on fact instead of fiction.

Sports bikes aren't as popular as you would imagine­ in Japan (from what I've seen amyway). Maybe this­ is why Kawasaki are considering pulling out ?
Perhaps­ if they agreed to a main sponsor on their livery it­ might help with finances until more secure times....

it will be a shame if they do leave moto gp but it­ seems to be a lot of effort on their part for hardly­ any results, hope the riders manage to get rides­ elsewhere.

I really feel for John, as I am his eldest sister. And­ Marco, ofcourse, he is a nice fella. Both riders do not­ deserve this.
Marie (London)