The Kawasaki Racing Team has confirmed to Crash.net that team principal Harald Eckl is leaving, but would not comment further.

Eckl has been in charge of Kawasaki's factory MotoGP race effort since its 2002 debut, but former Yamaha designer Ichiro Yoda is now expected to take over direct running of the team - and form a new European base.

Meanwhile, Eckl could yet remain in the grand prix paddock by moving to the new Ilmor SRT team. Eckl previously worked with Suter Racing Technology (SRT) when Eskil Suter's firm designed the ZX-RR's chassis.

Eckl had a contract to run the factory Kawasaki team in MotoGP until the end of the 2007 season.