Kawasaki will announce it is to pull out of MotoGP on Thursday morning, leaving John Hopkins and the seemingly luckless Marco Melandri looking for a ride in 2009.
Although it isn't yet known why the firm is withdrawing, the global economic crisis must be more than a factor, especially given the boss of Suzuki has hinted today the firm is in trouble and could be for sale.
Despite the fact Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a massive company, it has never spent anything like the money Honda has on racing and because Japan's economy is in dire straits, non-essential activities are bound to be the first things to go.
This leaves MotoGP with only 17 riders on the grid for next year.