Earthquake shouldn't hamper Yamaha

Rival Honda has admitted that the after-effects of the devastating natural disaster - which has led to the postponement of the Japanese Grand Prix - could cause parts shortages as the season progresses.

But Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis said his squad's base had escaped the worst of the earthquake's consequences.

"The continuation of the project will be okay pending any other problems in Japan," he said. "We have a stock of most parts and we don't foresee a problem.

"The Yamaha HQ at Shizuoka is all okay and the test track at Fukuroi that's two hours south of Tokyo on the bullet train is fine too. Sugo, a track owned by Yamaha, has some damage but that's further north."

Jarvis added that the first version of Yamaha's 1000cc bike for 2012 was on course to appear in the test following the Mugello race in July, subject to parts availability.

"We're planning to be there but that is an ongoing development programme that hasn't got too many parts here and now," he said. "Whether it will be ready for a MotoGP rider to be able to ride by then is another matter, otherwise it will be one of our test riders."