MotoGPmatters Silly Season:
Fiat Yamaha
Valentino Rossi Contract through 2010.
Rossi will be staying until he decides to retire from the sport.
Jorge Lorenzo Contract through 2009.
Lorenzo is Yamaha's future, and like Rossi, will be staying until he decides he's had enough.
Tech 3 Yamaha
Colin Edwards 1 year contract through 2009.
Edwards is signed for '09, but is unlikely to stay for too much longer. Much depends on what happens in the AMA.
James Toseland Took up option to stay through 2009. Toseland started brilliantly, but has stagnated a little. Will need to show a return to form if he is to stay after 2009.
Repsol Honda
Dani Pedrosa In 1st year of 2 year contract, signed for 2009. Pedrosa and his manager Alberto Puig have firm grip on the Repsol Honda garage. Pedrosa has been drafted in by Honda to win back the MotoGP title, and Puig has taken advantage to ensure that he controls events inside the team. Pedrosa and Puig are rumored to be demanding a wall separating the two sides of the Repsol Honda pits, and will have a very strong say in who will replace Nicky Hayden in 2009. Unfortunately, Pedrosa doesn't really want anyone as a team mate, so any such quest will be very difficult.
Andrea Dovizioso 1 year contract for 2009.
Andrea Dovizioso was officially announced as Nicky Hayden's replacement at Repsol Honda at Motegi, and with it came some interesting guarantees. These included being offered equal treatment, at least until one of the two Repsol riders gains a significant lead in the 2009 title race. But HRC President Hamane also stated that he would prefer to have both riders on the same tires, and pledged that there would be no dividing wall in the Repsol Honda garage.
Ducati
Casey Stoner Contract through 2010, option extended last year Casey Stoner, like Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo, can stay at Ducati as long as he likes. He has already brought the factory one title, and looks likely to repeat that feat, if not this year, then sometime in the very near future.
Nicky Hayden Contract for 2009.
Hayden's rumored contract was finally announced formally on the Monday after Indianapolis. Hayden has been with Honda since he was a teenager, and so the move is a big step for the Kentuckian. The Ducati has shown to be a tough bike to ride for everyone except Stoner, though things have improved over the past few races. The question is, can Hayden tame the bike like Stoner can? One thing is for sure: it won't be for lack of effort on Hayden's part.
Kawasaki
John Hopkins Contract through 2009 Hopkins is safe at Kawasaki for next year, but you have to wonder just how happy he is about that. The bike has been a disaster this year, after showing so much promise in 2007, and that must worry the American. Kawasaki have promised improvement for next year, and they could make some horsepower gains if they can get the fabulous sounding screamer engine to work. But nothing has been heard of it since being rolled out in April for testing. That's not good.
Marco Melandri Two-year deal for 2009 and 2010.
After a disastrous year aboard the Ducati, Melandri had to get out. Released from his 2 year contract a year early, Melandri looked elsewhere, nearly went back to Gresini Honda, who would have welcomed him with open arms, but decided he needed to be on a factory bike, to ensure that he had some input into the bike. Kawasaki was the only manufacturer left with a seat open, and so Melandri ended up there. The question remains, however, why Melandri thinks that a bike that has shown very little potential up until Brno should be any better than the Ducati he struggled on.
Suzuki
Loris Capirossi Contract through 2009.
Suzuki announced that they have renewed Capirossi's contract after the Misano round. The deal is just for one year, which makes sense, as the Italian veteran's age and long list of injuries has got to make you wonder just how much longer MotoGP's longest-serving son can continue. Retirement beckons, but whether that's in '10, or '11, or via the friendly side route of World Superbikes remains to be seen.
Chris Vermeulen Contract through 2009.
Chris Vermeulen's position at Suzuki was looking decidedly shaky, at least until two podiums in a row put some firm ground under his feet. But with one of those podiums coming in the wet and the other at Laguna Seca, his best track by a long way, a prolongation with Suzuki was not entirely certain. Vermeulen reportedly fell short of a performance clause at Laguna Seca which would have brought him an automatic extension, and since Laguna, he has been engaged in haggling between himself, the team and Suzuki, about the size of his wage packet.
The deal was finally done after Misano, and announced after the Misano MotoGP round, together with Capirossi's deal being announced. Like Capirossi's deal, Vermeulen's was just for one year. Vermeulen was praised for his development and progress, and this will have to continue if Vermeulen is to remain in MotoGP for another year.
Gresini Honda
Toni Elias Unsigned.
The remaining seat at Gresini Honda looks to be wrapped up. Toni Elias told the Spanish press that he has signed with Gresini, as he was given the guarantees of factory support first offered to Chris Vermeulen when the Australian looked like switching to Gresini.
However, no official announcements have yet been made, which means that Shinya Nakano still has a chance, albeit slim, of staying with Gresini. More likely, though, he will be heading back to Japan to replace the aging Tady Okada as Honda's test rider.
Despite earlier reports linking him to Gresini, Marco Simoncelli will be staying in the 250 class.
Alex de Angelis One-year deal for 2009.
Alex de Angelis has already signed a one-year deal with Gresini, as he has the double advantage of being both fast and Italian, helping in finding sponsors. Doubts remain about his propensity to head into the gravel at every opportunity, however, and the man from San Marino will have to fall off a lot less next year if he is to stay in MotoGP much longer....
jatkuu
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