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Pedrosa to Finally Ink Deal with Honda at Misano GP

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With Dani Pedrosa’s contract for 2010 with Honda all but signed, a brief wrench was thrown into the plan when Ducati was turned down by Jorge Lorenzo. This rejection gave further weight to Ducati’s similar pursuit of Dani Pedrosa, who was reportedly offered a similarly high salary figures.

Now with the renewal of Nicky Hayden’s contract, the avenue and bargaining chip for Pedrosa has shut, and there is really only one factory ride left for Dani: Repsol Honda. After Misano, it appears any rumors of Pedrosa jumping ship will finally be put to rest, but for the next few days, what that deal has in its provisions will be of some interest.

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MotoGP: Hayden Renews Contract with Ducati

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A few days later than expected, Nicky Hayden has decided to stay with Ducati for the 2010 season, as the Marlboro Ducati team exercised their option on the American rider today. We had originally expected this announcement at Indianapolis last weekend, after earlier news suggested we’d here about the contract, one way or another, before the month of September. But, better late than never, and the news helps sure up the paddock for the 2010 season.

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Hayden to Decide on Ducati by September

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With the MotoGP paddock still up in the air as to where riders will land for the 2010, some riders are in better positions than others. Nicky Hayden finds himself in the unique position of deciding whether or not he will stay with a factory ride, or move elsewhere. Hayden currently has a one-year contract with Ducati, which has an option to renew the contract for another with the American rider.

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Kawasaki Offers to Buyout Workers in Nebraska

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Kawasaki, not be left out of the metric manufacturer meltdown, is offering a buyout package to 320 workers at its plant in Lincoln, Nebraska, which produces ATVs and personal water craft for Team Green. While, the buyout applies to only about 16% of the plants total 2,000 or so workers, if further costs reductions are not met then deeper cuts will likely be made.

According to Kawasaki, “rapidly declining sales” of recreational and utility products prompted the buyout, and if not enough of the employees excericse the option to have their contracts bought, then Kawasaki will “be forced to terminate some employees.” Workers at the Nebraska plant already have been working short weeks and will continue to do so for the next several months. No further comment from Kawasaki is expected until Friday, May 22. 

Source: PowerSports Business

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Melandri Officially Signs with Hayate

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Today Marco Melandri confirmed that he has signed a one-year contract with Hayate Racing to race in this year’s MotoGP championship that will replace his previous two-year contract with Kawasaki.

The deal is a costly one for Melandri, both financially and in terms of his ability to compete. “I had to make a big financial sacrifice, but the most important thing that I wanted was to find trust,” he told MotoGP. Throughout the last test at Qatar, Melandri complained of issues with rear grip, a similar complaint he had with the Kawasaki, and he expressed his hope that these problems could be fixed quickly.

“I have nothing to lose. One month ago I had one foot outside the World Championship, and now I have a team that is working solely for me. My motivation is this, and to show Kawasaki that they made a mistake in choosing to pull out their factory support.”

In another month’s time, at the season opener at Qatar, we shall see whether Melandri’s hope as justified.

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Monster Energy Drink to Sponsor Valentino Rossi, Instead of John Hopkins

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With all the back-and-forth going on whether Kawasaki would be in MotoGP or not this season, Monster Energy Drink wasn’t willing to take the season to chance. They have decided to drop John Hopkins from their payroll, and have added Valentino Rossi instead. In a few days we are expecting to hear a formal announcement of the agreement, but the terms have already been leaked. Monster will sponsor Rossi for 2 years, to the tune of 2.5 million euros, plus a bonus of another half a million euros if he wins the Championship.

This news is a devastating blow to John Hopkins who’s ride for 2009 is still up in the air. Monster’s sponsorship of the American rider helped defray the cost a team had to incurr to have Hopper riding with them. Now without the help from Monster, Hopkins is going to have  to take a massive pay-cut, or find a team willing to pay him more than he’s probably worth at this point.

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Ezpeleta Holds Kawasaki to 2009, But Not 2010 and 2011

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Really, we’re trying to think of a way that the 2009 MotoGP season could become less of a soap opera, but it continues to act like one. Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, has shed some more light on the back-and-forth between his organization and Kawasaki.

“I’ve already said that I would not accept the breakdown of Kawasaki’s contract signed with us until 2011. I have proposed that they run in 2009, and in exchange, to allow them to withdraw in 2010 and 2011. They told me that they had an engine for only four or five races of the season. So I looked for a company in France able to help develop the bike. The last obstacle for the Japanese is to meet these people and accept their program.” 

This meeting is scheduled for early next week, and Ezpeleta is pushing for Kawasaki to honor its contract with its riders as well as Dorna, “The team will be led by Michael Bartholemy, and I think it is important to keep the two pilots under contract, John Hopkins and Marco Melandri.” Ezpeleta finished by reiterating that he would take Kawasaki to court if it defaulted on their commitment with Dorna Sports.

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