Guintoli unsure about Yamaha future

The team recently announced that World Superbike Championship leader James Toseland would join them for 2008, while Yamaha have signed 250cc champion Jorge Lorenzo without confirming whether he will ride for the works team or a satellite squad. Valentino Rossi's contract also runs through next season.

With Yamaha unlikely to expand beyond four bikes, those announcements have left question marks over current works rider Colin Edwards and Tech 3 duo Makoto Tamada and Guintoli.

The French rider has impressed in his rookie MotoGP season and was fastest of all in second practice at Brno this weekend, but is still waiting to hear if the team will retain him.

"For now I don't know, I haven't had any confirmation," Guintoli told autosport.com.

"We know that there's only one ride left with Yamaha next year, and there are a few riders going for it.

"I don't know, I'm just trying to do as good a job as I can on the bike and then it will be the team and Yamaha's decision.

"I hope this can go through because I think I'm getting very confident with the bike and I think I can do some good things with it. But then the decision is not mine, so I don't know."

Guintoli is concerned that many teams have already signed their 2008 riders - and fears that the rest of the paddock assumed he was already contracted to Yamaha for next season.

"A lot of riders have now been signed already, so there's not a lot of rides left," he said.

"I've spoken to a few team managers to let them know that I was not in contract next year, and then I've got to wait and see.

"But I think they were all thinking maybe I would be with Yamaha. I've got to talk with them to let them know that contractually I would be available next year."