FIM releases 17-bike MotoGP entry list

The loss of the Hayate Kawasaki and Scot Honda teams has been balanced out by the arrival of two 250cc graduate squads, with Aspar running a Ducati for Hector Barbera and Daniel Epp's Interwetten team bringing 250cc champion Hiroshi Aoyama on a satellite Honda.

Nearly one third of the riders on the grid will be contesting a full MotoGP season for the first time. In addition to Barbera and Aoyama, highly-rated Superbike world champion Ben Spies moves across to MotoGP with Tech 3 Yamaha after various one-off outings in recent years, and former 250cc champion Marco Simoncelli will race for Gresini Honda.

Suzuki is also promoting a 250cc frontrunner by signing Alvaro Bautista, while Aleix Espargaro gets a full season with Pramac Ducati after impressing on substitute appearances last year.

This influx of rookies has resulted in several departures, with Chris Vermeulen and James Toseland returning to Superbikes after losing their Suzuki and Tech 3 rides respectively. Fellow MotoGP refugees Toni Elias, Alex de Angelis, Niccolo Canepa and Gabor Talmacsi have all opted for the new Moto2 series.

Italian team FB Corse and Spanish outfit Inmotec have both been working on new MotoGP designs with the aim of racing in 2010, but neither has been included on the official entry list.

2010 MotoGP entry list

No  Rider             Official team name        Bike
4   Andrea Dovizioso  Repsol Honda Team         Honda
5   Colin Edwards     Monster Yamaha Tech 3     Yamaha
7   Hiroshi Aoyama    Interwetten-Honda MotoGP  Honda
11  Ben Spies         Monster Yamaha Tech 3     Yamaha
14  Randy de Puniet   LCR Honda MotoGP          Honda
19  Alvaro Bautista   Rizla Suzuki MotoGP       Suzuki
24  Marco Melandri    San Carlo Honda Gresini   Honda
26  Dani Pedrosa      Repsol Honda Team         Honda
27  Casey Stoner      Ducati Marlboro Team      Ducati
36  Mika Kallio       Pramac Racing Team        Ducati
40  Hector Barbera    Aspar MotoGP Team         Ducati
41  Aleix Espargaro   Pramac Racing Team        Ducati
46  Valentino Rossi   Fiat Yamaha Team          Yamaha
58  Marco Simoncelli  San Carlo Honda Gresini   Honda
65  Loris Capirossi   Rizla Suzuki MotoGP       Suzuki
69  Nicky Hayden      Ducati Marlboro Team      Ducati
99  Jorge Lorenzo     Fiat Yamaha Team          Yamaha