Kawasaki absent from Sepang. The chances of Kawasaki’s ZX-RRs continuing to race in MotoGP have been dealt a further blow after the machines were not present at the start of official 2009 testing, at Sepang on Thursday.
Ever since Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced its withdraw from MotoGP on January 9 - due to the global financial crises - Dorna and race team boss Michael Bartholemy have been working on a solution that would allow Bartholemy and his former factory team members to run the ZX-RRs as a privateer entry in 2009.
Kawasaki had also signed former MotoGP World Championship runner-up Marco Melandri to ride alongside Hopkins this season.
Kawasaki’s absence would reduce this year’s premier-class field to just 17 riders.
| 
|