As rumoured, JiR has announced that it will end its association with Honda at the end of the 2008 MotoGP season.

JiR - whose Chief Executive Officer Gianluca Montiron has worked with Honda since 2003 and took two wins with Makoto Tamada during 2004 - had joined forces with Team Scot this season to run Andrea Dovizioso in MotoGP and Yuki Takahashi in 250GP.

The JiR/Team Scot partnership will end at Valencia, and both outfits had planned to continue as a one-rider Honda MotoGP team next year, when Dovizioso will join Repsol Honda.

But with no further RC212Vs available for 2009, JiR and Scot have effectively been fighting over one ride - which Scot now appears to have secured in order to promote HRC favourite Takahashi to the premier class. Scot has run Takahashi since his full time grand prix debut in 2005.

JiR, which had been linked with triple AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies, confirmed that the Honda split was due to 'the non-acceptance by the Honda Racing Corporation of JiR's MotoGP project for the 2009 season'.

Montiron, who has been linked with Aprilia's new World Superbike project, suggested that he will switch to another championship next season by stating that it is now impossible for non-factory teams to win in MotoGP.

"It is now time to turn the page because I have a different vision and projects and it's the moment to close the chapter of our important collaboration with Honda Racing Corporation, which has been full of sporting and commercial success," commented Montiron.

"It is a question of motivation as well as choice. I am thinking of the 2003 season when my project brought Bridgestone into MotoGP alongside the Japanese rider Makoto Tamada. I remember with pleasure and pride a year of success in 2004, the year of the Camel Honda Team, with Tamada-san once more. And I cannot forget three very important seasons of 2005-2007 as the Konica Minolta Honda Team.

"This was a project which was solid and successful both commercially and sportively. And of course I also want to consider this year, which saw the emergence of Andrea Dovizioso into the top-level of MotoGP and the effort and dedication that has been made daily as we try to battle with the best teams and riders in the championship.

"However, nowadays for private teams there is no chance of winning races, and my target is to repeat the successes of the past, therefore I feel it is better for players such as us to quit rather than to simply make up the numbers on the grid. We have come to the time to finally turn the page and look forward to new projects, new motivation and a new manufacturer in which we can believe."