Italy's Marco Melandri once again has a ride for the upcoming MotoGP season after Kawasaki on Thursday reversed its decision to quit the Grand Prix championship.
Kawasaki, which last month said it was dropping out of MotoGP due to economic factors, confirmed its presence in the 2009 season after what it described as ''constructive talks'' with championship organizers and ''additional third parties,'' believed to be sponsors.
However, the team added that it would run only one bike and rider, Melandri.
The 26-year-old Italian rider signed with Kawasaki at the end of last season after a first, disappointing year with Ducati.
Kawasaki had been the fourth Japanese motor vehicle company to quit racing after Honda put its Formula 1 team up for sale and Subaru and Suzuki pulled their teams from the world rally championship.
In January the Japanese motorcycle-maker explained that it was forced to quit MotoGP because sales, especially in the United States and Europe, had plunged due to the recent economic crisis.
At the time insiders estimated that Kawasaki would save over 31 million euros by dropping out.
The fact that Melandri will be alone for 2009 means that his American teammate John Hopkins remains without a ride for the new season, which opens April 12 with the Qatar Grand Prix.
Kawasaki was been in Grand Prix racing for a total of 17 years, in three different time periods (1970-75, 1979-82 and 2002-08), and never won a world championship.
Melandri began Grand Prix racing at the age of 15 with Honda in the 125cc class. After two seasons he moved up to the 250cc class with Aprilia and in 2002 he became the youngest rider to win the 250cc championship, a record he held for two years until it was broken by Spain's Dani Pedrosa.
After three years in the 250cc class, Melandri graduated to MotoGP in 2003, first riding for Yamaha and then Honda.
