Kawasaki could face legal action for quitting MotoGP unless a deal is struck with another outfit to keep their two bikes racing, the head of the company that holds the sport’s commercial rights said on Thursday.
Carmelo Ezpeleta, boss of Madrid-based MotoGP rights holder Dorna, noted that the Japanese manufacturer’s contract runs through 2011 and if no agreement was reached with another manufacturer legal steps were possible as a last resort.
“Legal action is the last step,” he said. “We would try to ask them for compensation.”
“It must be resolved because the season is almost starting,” Ezpeleta said. “In two or three weeks maximum we have to have a solution or even earlier.”
Kawasaki riders John Hopkins of the United States and Italian Marco Melandri could still race this season if Aspar team boss Jorge Martinez manages to do a deal to run the Kawasaki machines independently.
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UPDATE: January 19, 2009 01:07 am
Dorna chief executive Carmelo Ezpeleta has warned Kawasaki that it must race in MotoGP this season, while the manufacturer’s factory test rider Olivier Jacque is currently on track in Australia.
Ezpeleta said that he was willing to release Kawasaki from the final two years of that agreement, providing that its bikes are on the grid in 2009.
“I have told Kawasaki that I would not accept this contract being broken and, since they have said that the costs for this season are budgeted, I have proposed that they race in 2009.
“In exchange I will release them from 2010 and 2011.”
“If Kawasaki will not race, I will take them to court.”
Kawasaki have debuted the new Ninja ZX-RR in a private test with Olivier Jacque at the Australian circuit of Eastern Creek.
Jacque noted after his first few laps on the new model, “I only had a quick first run but the first impression with the bike is quite positive. Overall it seems lighter and more agile, so the work done over the winter has definitely been positive. Now we have to rack up some miles to have a better idea of the bike’s potential.”
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