Marco Melandri reckons he will know what is going on with his 2009 season by this time next week. He held an impromptu press conference in his local coffee shop and told the assembled throng he was expecting a call from Kawasaki team boss Michael Bartholemy next Wednesday.Bartholemy is due in Japan tomorrow to hold talks with Kawasaki to try and sort out whether he will be allowed to run them as customer team bikes this season. I reckon Bartholemy and Jorge Martinez will run them jointly, with the Spaniard bringing sponsorship money and Fonsi Nieto. Melandri's manager has stated the Italian will not ride for the sake of it, and would rather have a year out than go to World Superbikes.

Sources inside the Monster drinks company have said the multi-squillion Euro deal with Valentino Rossi is not at the expense of current MotoGP representative John Hopkins. Which means he might hang on to the Kawasaki ride. If there is one...

Despite being defunct, Kawasaki's MotoGP team finished a test at Australia's Eastern Creek and then moved on to Phillip Island to undertake further tests on the 2009 ZX-RR.

Oliver Jacque and a Japanese man whose name escapes me have been doing plenty of laps on the updated bike, with Jacque saying it is the first shakedown so everything is brand new. He added that they have a new engine and a new chassis and that it takes time to set up all these things correctly but the first impression is quite positive. But he would wouldn't he?

Suzi Perry and Stavros Parrish will continue to front the BBC's MotoGP coverage in 2009. Good. I shall be speaking with the boss of Eurosport UK over a spot of luncheon at The Ivy soon and will inquire whether the company has any chance of broadcasting MotoGP this year.

Ducati boss Claudio Domenicali says the Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers' Association is close to agreeing on measure to increase the life of engines in MotoGP, thereby cutting costs. He says the Desmosedici motors need to be replaced after 700kms, and that ought to be doubled. And he added the engines should be rev-limited to 17,000.

Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden kicked the Ferrari F1 team's collective arse, including number one driver Felipe Massa, in an ice karting event during Ducati's Wrooooooooom jolly at Trentino in Italy. Good work, fellas. It has been said, however, that Massa beat Stoner in a whinge-off later that day...

Stoner says that a salary cap is not the way forward as a cost-cutting measure in MotoGP. Well he would, wouldn't he?

Hayden, meanwhile, has said he isn't thinking about winning championships but needs to focus on winning a race, something he hasn't done since 2006, when he won the MotoGP title. How about some podiums as an aperitif, Nicky?

Silverstone looks set to unveil the changes it is going to make to the track before MotoGP goes to race there in 2010. A spokesman said: "They should be announced in a couple of weeks." Which is helpful.

Unfortunately, Tech3 Yamaha boss Herve Poncharal wasn't around to comment on anything, but I would like to think he would have rolled his eyes, waved his hands a bit and said "Paf" before nipping off for a cheeky Pernod.