Kawasaki's future in MotoGP looks set to be decided today when the Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers Association meet with Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta in Japan.

The MSMA, which represents manufacturers (but not teams, that's IRTA's job) in MotoGP, is to have an extraordinary meeting to sort out the Kawasaki's plans to withdraw from the series, and to hammer out a raft of cost-cutting measures.

One options is for Jorge Martinez to take control of the team, in which Kawasaki will have already ploughed millions, and run it from now on, with either the existing two riders using Hopkins' Monster drinks money, or a single rider of his own choosing, using his own backers'cash.

Whether Martinez would run semi-developed 2009 bikes or last year's ZX-RRs is a matter for discussion, but why would he take over machinery that was only capable of 16th and dead last in the series last year?
Ezpeleta is desperate to keep the grid as full as he can, and may well be waving Dorna's mighty chequebook at a lot of people in order to keep at least one Kawasaki on the grid for this season. Although the commercial rights holders don't seem to be accountable to anyone, Bridgepoint, the private equity company that owns it, will be looking at the business very closely.
Bridgepoint bought Dorna from CVC, which now owns F1, for a reported $400m. Because private equity firms are in the business of turning, erm, businesses around and making profit in a relatively short space of time, it will want to sell Dorna for at least $600m. Dorna is probably worth around half what was paid for it. So, although Ezpeleta would seem to be omnipotent, he is far from that and will be looking over his shoulder for a man in a dull suit, waving a bought ledger...