2015 MotoGP Provisional Entry List Announced - No Surprises, But Still No Second Aprilia Rider

Along with the Moto3 and Moto2 entry lists, the FIM announced the provisional entry list for MotoGP for the 2015 season. The list contains no surprises, all the signings already announced. 

It does, however, contain two question marks, one large, one small. The large one is whether Marco Melandri will be joining Alvaro Bautista in the Gresini Aprilia squad next season, or whether he will stay on in World Superbikes for another year. Melandri is believed to be wary of the Aprilia MotoGP project, given the lack of competitiveness of the bike. For 2016, a new and greatly revised bike is expected, built specifically for MotoGP, rather than the modified RSV4 which they are currently racing. Melandri may be holding out for a year to assess the competitiveness of a new bike. However, if Aprilia do not back any teams in WSBK next year, then Melandri may find that his hand is being forced. No doubt that situation will finally be resolved next week, at the last round of World Superbikes at Qatar.

The other question is whether the IODA team will actually take part in MotoGP next year. They have struggled for funds in 2014, unable to field the two bikes originally planned. For next year, they have neither a bike nor a rider signed, and without finding a generous sponsor, it is hard to imagine how they will continue. More will become apparent at Valencia, no doubt, when (or indeed, if) the team tests on the three days following the race.

The provisional 2015 MotoGP line up: