De Angelis hits out at Gresini

Alex de Angelis has hit out at his Gresini Honda team after it confirmed that he would not be retained for the 2010 season

The Italian is currently seventh in the MotoGP standings and his second-place at Indianapolis on Sunday was his fourth top six finish of the season, but the team has already announced that it will run Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli next year.

De Angelis has claimed that Gresini never gave him the opportunity to be successful and that was only signed because he was the only Italian rider available at the time.

"I'm convinced the team has never believed in me 100 per cent," de Angelis told Italian magazine Motosprint. "They had only hired me because two years ago I was the only Italian on the market. And they've never given me what my team-mates have had."

When asked why he was treated unfairly, he said: "You should ask Gresini. It's true that I made some mistakes last year, I crashed four times in the opening lap, and it was in races where I could do well. However I've always put in the effort."

De Angelis says he is in talks with other teams about another seat in MotoGP, but says he would rather consider options in Moto2 (which will replace the 250cc class in 2010) or Superbikes than take a year out.

"I'm speaking with Team Tech 3, and there could also be Team Pramac or a Honda team. [Otherwise] I will have to look at Moto2 and SBK. For sure I won't take a sabbatical year, that would drive me crazy."