MotoGP 2006 Teams and Riders (to date)

[R1 Biker]

As things stand following the Australian GP, the provisional line-up for 2006 appears as follows:

Yamaha Factory: Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards are confirmed but the team sponsorship is in dispute due to Rossi’s insistence on a non-tobacco sponsor. Rossi and his organization are trying to find sponsors to run his team, a “satellite” team that would, in theory, run parallel to a Gauloises Yamaha factory team. Yamaha’s lead team will run on Michelin. Rossi, recently photographed smoking by Italian paparazzi, has expressed a desire not to carry tobacco sponsorship in the past, but then has tested the Marlboro Ferrari Formula 1 car with full branding shown. Some Italian journalists believe that Rossi needs to “clean his image” of conflicting tobacco sponsorship in 2006 in order to move into the Marlboro Ferrari team in 2007. Rossi, on the other hand, will not discuss the tobacco issue and says he has no idea what he will do in 2007.

Yamaha Tech3: With sponsors Fortuna leaving, team principal and director, Herve Poncheral, is talking with Roberto Rolfo (currently with the d’Antin Ducati team) and Aprilia 250 star Casey Stoner of Australia. The team would run Yamaha M1s and probably on Dunlop tires. No sponsor is mentioned.

Repsol Honda: The factory Honda team will be led by American Nicky Hayden, who, after three years, will finally be directly involved in developing the last of the 990cc versions of the RC211V before the MotoGP class is reduced to 800cc in 2007. His team mate will be Dani Pedrosa, although Honda will not confirm this officially.Tsutosmu Ishii, General Director of HRC, shied away from naming Pedrosa as a factory rider when interviewed in Australia, but this seems to be because of contractual matters between Honda and Telefonica-Movistar. He did say that the 2007 Honda 800cc would be “a compact motorcycle,” and that “the Honda riders in the future will be small.” Spanish journalists have reached the conclusion that the 2007 Honda will be built to suit Pedrosa, the rider they believe Honda and Repsol see as their man of the future. Hayden, however, will have a lot to say about that. If he wins races and battles for the title, or wins it, in 2006, he will have laid claim to the illusive role as Honda’s #1.

Camel Honda Pons: This team looks set now with Biaggi and Checa on Michelin and riding the satellite version of the RC211V which will be very, very close to the full factory Honda in all specs, according to Ishii. Current riders Alex Barros and Troy Bayliss were not offered contracts. Bayliss, out with a serious wrist injury, has been signed by the Ducati Corse team in World Superbike. If Biaggi and Checa are confirmed this would also close what was a very narrow window of opportunity for World Superbike runner-up Chris Vermuelen, who rode very well at Phillip Island, finishing eleventh and dicing with John Hopkins for most of the race on a bike he had never ridden before. Vermuelen looks likely now to return to the Winston Ten Kate team in World Superbike for at least another season. Team Pons is expected to continue with Michelin.

Gresini Honda: Marco Melandri has signed for another two years on this team which is neither fish nor fowl. It is not a full factory team according to Honda but at the same time it is not one of the five IRTA franchised team (Pons Honda, Tech3 Yamaha, d’Antin Ducati, Team Roberts and WCM). If Fortuna does leave Yamaha and is authorized by Altadis to sponsor the Gresini Honda team, the second rider on the Fortuna Gresini Honda team could be Toni Elias. Gresini, with approval from Honda, made an offer to Gibernau, but it was turned down. Gresini Honda will continue with Michelin.

Konica Minolta Honda: Team director Luca Montiron confirms sponsor, machine and rider will all continue. Makoto Tamada won two races last year on Bridgestone tires before switching to Michelin this season. There have been rumors of a return to French tires, but, so far, this has been denied.

Marlboro Ducati: Loris Capirossi will be joined by Sete Gibernau. Checa was told in Malaysia that his option would not be taken up. Ducati, winners with Capirossi in Japan and Malaysia, will continue with Bridgestone tires.

D’Antin Ducati: Ducati has confirmed that this Madrid-based satellite team will use a satellite version of the Ducati V4 Desmosedici which will be designated as the Ducati GP6-Sat, virtually identical to the works Desmosedici GP6 except in electronics and a few other details. One rider is expected to be British, probably either Shane Byrne or James Ellison and, according to d’Antin “the second rider will be Japanese, Italian or Spanish.” The Japanese rider most likely would be veteran Shinichi Itoh who is Bridgestone’s test rider in Japan and just clinched this last weekend the All-Japan Superbike Championship riding a Bridgestone-shod Honda CBR1000RR. The d’Antin single-rider team (Roberto Rolfo) ran Dunlop this year but is now expected to use Bridgestone like the works Ducati team. No sponsor is mentioned.

Suzuki factory: With John Hopkins signed for two years and former 500cc World Champion Kenny Roberts Junior (probably out for the rest of the season after his practice crash, resulting in a broken wrist, in Australia) unlikely to continue, Suzuki is talking with Alex Barros, Steve Ellison and “others.” Among these “others,” however, team director Paul Denning does not include former World Superbike Champion James Toseland, dropped by Ducati Corse for 2006. Toseland, said Denning, might ride for the factory Rizzla Suzuki team in the British Championship or for another World Superbike team. Suzuki, still un-sponsored, will continue with Bridgestone.

Kawasaki factory: All confirmed: Shinya Nakano, Randy de Puniet (the Frenchman moves up from 250) and Bridgestone. Harald Eckl, team director, says there will be no third Kawasaki, but that Frenchman Olivier Jacque may continue as test rider.

Team KR: Honda HRC General Manager Tsutosmu Ishii confirmed in Japan that HRC would supply engines to the team of Kenny Roberts if sponsorship is obtained. The deadline for ordering RC211V Honda machines by satellite teams is October 31, but in the case of the Roberts team this deadline would not apply because the rolling chassis would be supplied by the team leaving Honda only to build and supply engines. If sponsorship is found and all this comes about, Team Roberts would run a single rider, possibly Kenny Roberts Junior, although Kurtis Roberts will ride the Proton KR V5 in Valencia. (Engine supplier KTM backed out of an agreement to supply V4 KTM engines just prior to the GP of the Czech Republic, leaving the team to run their 2004 Proton KR V5 with Jeremy McWilliams as rider. They were unable to compete in the subsequent rounds due to a lack of spare engine parts, but have confirmed their presence at the final round in Valencia.) Team Roberts runs Michelin.

WCM: The Blata V6 project never materialized leaving the team to run their WCM in-line fours which are now hopelessly off the pace. The team is unlikely to continue in 2006 unless sponsorship is found. At present Team Director Peter Clifford is not optimistic.