Kawasaki out. Probably.

 http://www.crash.net/motorsport/motogp/news/173067-1/kawasaki_confirms_in
evitable.html

Looks like Kawasaki are pulling the plug.

But there's still a possibility that Aspar will pick up the whole team
with minimal input from the factory, some money from Dorna and Spanish
sponsors.

Which probably also condemns Kawasaki to the back of the grid, just as
in WSB but worse because even if you can do the tuning, you can't just
buy a MotoGP Kawasaki off the show room floor.

And then there were 17.

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                               It Floats

 So thats Spanish riders or no-one riding a Kawasaki. Thought Kawasaki
were near the back of the grid anyway. What are Hopkins and Melandri
going to do? a little late for contracts, Marco will probably mope
around the WSB paddock or make a superstar appearance at a BSB event.
Hopkins will go back to illegal LA street racing or make a career
break and hangout with the 'Star Boyz', with stand up wheelies like
his it would be a shame to waste the talent!
Its their own fault for big teams folding. Look at - who was it -
Ilmor's racing 800. Must have needed good results early on but McCoy
and the other one never delivered and the venture lasted about 3
meetings. If Kawasaki had a couple of wins last year then they might
have stayed on. Hopkin's argument was that Kawasaki never came up with
the Florida condo I'll bet.

 the original rumor mill is that Aspar would like to keep Hopkins. face
it, he's experienced and would be a great mentor for someone like
Debon (who i can't imagine why any sponsor would like to see in
MotoGP, but hey, probably he has a rich Uncle or something). Debon by
himself would be utterly dead in the water and likely to set new
records in not being competitive in MotoGP.
it may be a year where factories truly just go for optimization and do
not invest much in breakthrough development, so perhaps the kawa team
would be no less competitive than they have been anyway. with the new
tire rule it is worth the gamble. i think Aspar thinks along those
lines (based on what i heard him say) and that he will go for the
gamble, at least for a few races.