Definitely no Aspar Kawasaki

As expected there will be no Aspar Team in the MotoGP class this season, following the withdrawal of Kawasaki. Jorge Martinez confirmed in the Spanish magazine Motociclismo that there will definitely be no green Aspar Team this season. The negotiations with the company fell short when it became clear that Kawasaki would not be able to provide Aspar with the necessary long-term support he requested.
The potential rescue of the team now lies in the hands of team boss Michael Bartholemy who is currently in Japan, trying to sort out an agreement with the company to run the bikes during the 2009 season.

No Aspar Kawasaki Team in 2009

Kawasaki has now officialy announced its withdrawal from the MotoGP class as a factory.
However, there will still be Kawasakis on the grid in 2009. But differently to what was previously assumed, Jorge Martinez will not take over the team from Kawasaki and make it into a MotoGP Aspar Team. Martinez stated earlier that he will not participate in the project at all cost and that he wanted to stay in the class for at least three years and with a development guarantee from the factory. It seems that Kawasaki was not willing or able to provide that and instead current competition manager Michael Bartholemy will run the team in 2009 with Kawasaki ZX-RRs, together with a guarantee of spare parts and a maintenance agreement.
This way there are again 19 bikes on the grid next season, but with Jorge Martinez out of the picture. With an uncompetitive Kawasaki not an option anymore for 2010, Martinez will continue talks with other factories in order to get one or two MotoGP bikes the following season.

Team Aspar Kawasaki in 2009?

After the shock announcement that Kawasaki is set to leave the MotoGP class with immediate effect due to the financial crisis, Jorge Martinez Aspar is now once again in talks to possibly run ex-works Kawasakis in the MotoGP championship in 2009. Autosport.com reports:

Leading 125cc and 250cc team Aspar are working on a deal to run the ex-works Kawasakis in MotoGP this year following the Japanese manufacturer's decision to quit the series.
As reported by autosport.com earlier this week, Kawasaki is set to officially confirm its exit from MotoGP in the coming days, leaving just four factory teams on the grid.

Aspar came close to agreeing a satellite Kawasaki deal for 2009, only for the plan to fall through because Kawasaki's preferred rider Shinya Nakano was not favoured by Aspar's Spanish backers.
But now Aspar boss Jorge Martinez says talks have resumed as championship organiser Dorna works to keep a Kawasaki presence in MotoGP.

"At the moment I'm on vacation with my family," Martinez told Gazzetta dello Sport. "However, since it has been known that Kawasaki was not taking part next season, my vacations have practically finished.
"For the last two days I've been on the phone with Dorna. They called me first. We are in contact and talks to buy out the two Kawasakis have started.

"For sure I'm very interested in MotoGP. It's a project that was already in my plans. Now there is this opportunity which I don't yet know with certainty whether it will come to be and how. From my part there is the will to talk. We'll see."

Kawasaki already had John Hopkins and Marco Melandri under contract for 2009. The American's personal sponsorship from energy drink company Monster could prove valuable to any team taking on the Kawasakis, and although Martinez was unwilling to discuss rider plans, he hinted that he would also be happy to retain Melandri.

"The matter regarding riders isn't a priority at the moment," said Martinez.
"I certainly wouldn't have any problem with Melandri. In fact, he's a rider I've always liked very much."

Martinez would be able to get the bikes at no cost, because Kawaski has a contract with Dorna to stay in the championship until 2011 and a breach of contract would cost them a few millions. This way they would avoid that situation and Aspar had more options for sponsors and riders.
Dorna is very interested in keeping Kawasaki on the grid since only 17 bikes on the grid would be one bike short of the world championship status and Dorna is eager to retain that status, especially in light of recent image damage compared to World Superbikes.

TeamAspar.net will keep you updated on any new developments concerning a possible Aspar Kawasaki Team.

Aspar Kawasaki with Alvaro Bautista in 2009?

According to the magazine gpweek.com Jorge Martinez Aspar has now finalized the deal with Kawasaki to run a NEW factory Kawsaki team in the MotoGP class next season. The rider is said to be current 250cc championship contender and former 125cc world champion Alvaro Bautista.

The quote in full:

A NEW one-rider second Kawasaki team for next year will add to the grids, and has helped other contracts fall into place, as the 2009 line-up nears finality.
The team, with a new Spanish telephone company sponsor, will be run by former multi-80/125cc champion Jorge 'Aspar' Martinez, and will field current 250 star and former 125 champion Alvaro Bautista on a Kawasaki.
This ends Martinez’s long quest to add a MotoGP team to his impressive portfolio of 250 and 125 teams, increasing his influence in the paddock. Martinez had previously been in negotiation with Suzuki, but was told earlier this year they would not be able to supply him with a motorcycle.

Spanish media already reported this weekend that Jorge Martinez is in negotiations with Kawasaki and wanted to seal the deal before the next race in Misano in two weeks time. The riders in question were Alvaro Bautista and Toni Elias. However, nothing was said about a finalized contract, so it remains to be seen if this news is indeed true or maybe just a case of jumping to conclusions a little to early.