Sete Gibernau's Grupo Franciso Hernando Ducati sqaud have withdrawn from the MotoGP World Championship with immediate effect, leaving the series with just 17 bikes on the grid.

Citing the global economic downturn, the team will not be appearing at the Sachsenring this weekend for the German MotoGP race which is a disappointment to the Spanish rider.

"The person most surprised by this decision was me. Everyone in the team worked hard to keep the project on track. On a personal level, it was  a brave gamble, taken with the hope of building a successful project which would achieve targets we had set for ourselves as each Grand Prix passed," said Gibernau.

The company behind the team state they intend to focus on the primary role of construction and promotion.