Gibernau left in limbo as Grupo Francisco Hernando withdraw from MotoGP

Ducati satellite team Grupo Francisco Hernando have announced their departure from the MotoGP World Championship, leaving the future of Sete Gibernau in great uncertainty.

Newcomers to the premier class, the outfit ran the returning Gibernau at six of this season’s MotoGP races (missing two after the Spaniard suffered a collarbone injury in France), but stated that the current economic climate required an immediate cessation of their involvement in the series.

“This decision is down to the global economic situation, and Grupo Francisco Hernando have decided to focus their investment on their projects as promoters and constructors,” read the announcement.

“I am the most surprised at this decision,” said veteran rider Gibernau, who came back to riding after a two year absence. “Everybody in the team has fought to go forward with this project. On a personal level it was a big gamble, but the project was reaching higher and higher goals with the passing of each race. It is a shame that, just as we were getting close to picking up the results that we were after, we have had to pull out.”

The former World Championship runner up also extended his thanks to his personal sponsors, fans and the media, but made no statement as to whether he would look to continue riding. His first retirement came in 2006 after a crash at the Portuguese round of the series and, in a cruel mirroring of that situation, his final race for Grupo Francisco Hernando ended with a fall at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix little over a week ago.