After watching factory rider Álvaro Bautista jump ship to Team San Carlo Honda Gresini, it looks like the shoe has finally dropped on Suzuki’s involvement in MotoGP for the 2012 season, as it is being reported that Rizla Suzuki team members were emailed Friday that the factory squad would not enter next year’s MotoGP Championship.

Suzuki had been handed an ultimatum by Dorna, demanding that the Japanese company make a decision on its 2012 involvement by Friday of last week. With nary an announcement coming forth, the signs in the tea leaves pointed to Rizla Suzuki’s departure from the series, which has been further confirmed today. Though Suzuki is said to be continuing its 1,000cc MotoGP testing program, reports peg the company’s return to GP racing as soon as 2014, if at all.

Rumors are still fuzzy on the upcoming release of a new middleweight Suzuki adventure bike, with there being some debate as to whether the V-Strom replacement will be a 650cc, 1000cc, or perhaps even an 800cc machine. Suzuki is pushing the adventure statement hard, which to us means that this new bike will be more off-road capable than the current V-Strom, which to us has always seemed like a sport-tourer duped into doing something it wasn’t intended to do.

With Suzuki’s US website even sporting the teaser images now, this looks to be a worldwide release; and we won’t have to wait long to find out all the details, as this Saturday should bring us more information on how the Japanese brand is finally getting on this mid-life crisis bandwagon. So far the best guess we’ve heard are new look, new chassis, and new motor. More teaser photos after the jump.

Under normal circumstances, Valentino Rossi testing the Ducati Desmosedici GP12 at the Mugello circuit would be a big deal on the interwebs. But today with the combination of a “been there, done that” effect that setting in around the GP12, and the news that the new 2012 Ducati “Superquadrata” Superbike is also being tested at the fabled Italian track, Rossi’s latest outing on the 1,000cc class bike is taking a backseat. That’s not say we don’t want to show The Doctor some love, as Ducati Corse has eight more photos showing off details of the GP12.

Though not a big technical detail, one of the new things we spotted from the photos was the gravel guard on the exhaust pipe near the right foot, which matches the guard we’re accustomed to seeing on the GP11′s tail. The big question regarding the GP12 though is its cylinder dimensions, with Nicky Hayden recently quoted as saying he could talk about anything regarding the GP12, except its motor displacement. Interesting, no? Photos after the jump.

Casey Stoner was on the 2012 Honda MotoGP prototype race bike today, taking laps at Jerez under the sunny Spanish skies. Originally the test had included both Stoner and Dani Pedrosa, but with the Spaniard’s broken collarbone at the French GP, only the Australian was aboard the new HRC machine today. HRC test rider Shinichi Ito took the new 1,000cc bike out to the track in the morning, while Stoner swung his leg over the Honda later in the day.

“Everything has gone very well, very positive. It’s just nice to ride the 1000cc again, to feel the engine and the power,” said Stoner. “I had a lot of fun, I enjoyed the first day because everything we’ve tried seems to be working, so no complaints. The biggest disappointment is that Dani is not going be here to test as he is important to the development of this bike. I hope that soon HRC can get his input as well because we need as much data as possible, in order to be ready for next season.”

“We didn’t focus on anything special today, just tried to understand what the bike is doing, how it reacts on the brakes and things like that, also considering some the issues we have with the 800cc right now. The braking point seems to be stronger, stability in the front going into the corner seems to be very good, and of course we want to understand how the power delivery is, and it is very smooth so no problem . In general, we haven’t changed too much from the set up we have on the 800cc right now and the feeling is very similar, so it’s pretty good”.

While we were busy filing our taxes last week, HRC was busy at the Suzuka circuit shaking out its yet-to-be-named 2012 MotoGP race bike. Details are a bit sparse, but motogp.com is reporting that HRC test riders Kousuke Akiyoshi and Tady Okada were at the helm of the new bike, and the website shows a solitary photo that craftily doesn’t give away too much about the machine. The private test is a prelude to Honda’s factory riders hopping on the machine to likely greater media fanfare, which will most likely happen at the MotoGP test scheduled after the Mugello round.

To considerably less fanfare, Nicky Hayden took the Ducati Desmosedici GP12 today at Jerez, which for MotoGP fans means more photos of Ducati’s 1,000cc class prototype motorcycle. Ducati didn’t make a video of Nicky’s adventures on the GP12, but the race team got some valuable input from the American racer, who put in 61 laps for Ducati Corse once the circuit dried from high humidity. “When I woke up this morning, the sky was really gray and the track was completely wet,” said Nicky Hayden. “I was pretty disappointed. I didn’t think we’d be able to do anything because it wouldn’t have made sense to waste a day testing in those conditions.”

“The situation got better and better though, and after lunch, I was able to put on my leathers. I couldn’t wait to ride, and it was worth the wait. It’s an honor to be able to participate in the first track test of the GP12 because it doesn’t happen very often that you get to ride a bike on the track for the first time: it’s a special feeling. Everything went well, and we didn’t have a single problem: the motor is really nice to use, and I had a lot of fun riding the bike. I hope I gave some useful feedback to Filippo and the boys. I know they’ll be working on this bike while we go back to focusing on the next race, because this season just started.”

Under some sunny and warm skies at Jerez, Valentino Rossi got to meet the Desmosedici GP12 for the first time today. In total Rossi slagged the GP12 across the Andalusian circuit for a total of 50 laps saying, and was seemingly pleased the the new machine.

“I’m happy,” said Valentino Rossi after the test. “I like the GP12. In my opinion, it’s more enjoyable, more fun to ride. It was the first time we had it on the track, so we had some work to do, but the engine is nicer. It’s a lot of fun, and you can do some nice slides. It’s the bike we’ll ride next year, so it was very important—and also very nice—to be among the first to take it on the track.” Photos, video, and more are awaiting you after the jump.

For the 2012 season, MotoGP will be reverting back to its 1,000cc format (actually, it used to be 990cc, but what’s ten cubic centimeters among friends?). While many MotoGP fans have been awaiting the day that the “big bikes” would return to premier racing with their powersliding, rider chewing, wheelie popping ways, it’s hard to get excited when the first two races of the last 800cc season have been so eventful. Nevertheless the die has been cast, and this week should be begin our first glimpse into these two-wheeled monsters.

In a somewhat bizzare move, the GP Commission is set to discuss the possibility of bringing 1000cc race bikes to MotoGP a year earlier than previously agreed upon. A proposal set to be put forth on Friday by IRTA President and Tech3 Yamaha boss Herve Poncharal would allow for 1000cc motorcycles to race in MotoGP in 2011 rather than in 2012 as was planned because of the alleged need to fill the grid from its current 17 bike total.

With the announcement that MotoGP would “allow up to” a 1000cc format in 2012, there was a hinting that manufacturers would be allowed to use their current 800cc machines in the coming years. The provision comes from the concern that another switch in engine rules will mean another financial blow to the teams that have already spent so much time developing their 800cc race bikes. We’ll skip the economic dissertation on what a sunk cost is, and go straight into the news that Yamaha will reportedly not make the jump to 1000cc’s, and instead continue to use its 800cc M1 in 2012.