Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta says he is not worried about the sport following the withdrawal of Kawasaki from MotoGP. As revealed by autosport.com, the Japanese manufacturer will pull out before the start of the season, although there remains the possibility that the bikes could be run by Jorge Martinez’s team.

Ezpeleta, however, reckons the sport can remain as strong as ever. “First of all, we have to deal with the Kawasaki situation,” Ezpeleta told Motosprint. “They have a contract with Dorna stating their commitment to participate in the championship at least until 2011. Am I worried? No, because I’ve thought a lot about everything and I think I can take the blow. If in 2009 and 2010 we manage to maintain the spectacle supplied by MotoGP up to now, then we’ll all come out stronger for it. The priority is to have 19 bikes at least in 2010. At any cost. And I’ve started working towards this since the day Kawasaki told me they’re quitting”. www.autosport.com  www.motogp.com