Rea out - Kurtis replaces Kenny.

Rea, who recently won the Suzuka 300km endurance race and took his first BSB win at Mondello Park on Sunday, was due to ride the second Honda-powered KR212V machine alongside Kenny Jr at Donington Park - but the 20-year-old's packed schedule, which includes the Suzuka 8 Hours as well as BSB, has led to a 'change of strategy' by Honda.

"It's unfortunate Jonathan won't be able to compete with us at Donington," said Team Roberts team manager Chuck Aksland. "The whole team was looking forward to working with him. He's had a good run lately and Honda have decided that it is best for him to stick with his current priorities which obviously lie in the British Superbike Championship and Suzuka 8 hour event. Hopefully we can find another opportunity to get him aboard our MotoGP bike in the near future."

As of Sunday night, Rea still expected to ride at Donington - and had planned to visit the Team Roberts headquarters this (Monday) morning - although he also described the hectic schedule that has now, at the very least, delayed his MotoGP debut.

"I've got a very early boat trip to get to the Roberts factory in Banbury on Monday morning, to set up my levers," Rea told Crash.net Radio on Sunday evening at Mondello Park. "Then, to give you a little insight into my schedule, Tuesday I'm doing a chat show; Wednesday and Thursday I'm Superbike testing at Cadwell; Friday, Saturday and Sunday is MotoGP; Sunday night I fly to Japan for two days testing and then I'll arrive at Knockhill on Thursday night at 11pm. The next two weeks are pretty hard, but hopefully I'll be alright..."

Rea's omission isn't the only news at Team Roberts, which will now revert back to a one rider team for the British Grand Prix - having run both Kurtis and Kenny Jr for the last two rounds - but with former world champion Kenny Jr, the team's original rider, standing down until a new chassis is complete.

"It's been a difficult start to the season for all of us. We have found some areas that we hope can improve the chassis side of things, but unfortunately it takes time to design and manufacture the components," explained Aksland. "From Kenny Jr's side, it has been very frustrating, as the fundamentals of the machine seemed fine since we started testing. However, competitive lap times have not been there. He is the same rider that put our bike on the podium twice last year and we thought heading into this season we could do better. For whatever reason we have not.

"There have been a lot of changes, engine, tyre rules, etc. It took some time for us to get the 990 right and we are confident we can bring the 800 around as well. We just need some more time. All we can focus on is what we can control and that is to make the chassis better. Kenny Jr has ridden the current spec enough and we decided the best time for him to come back would be when there are new parts available to get the KR212V closer to the front. This next step is targeted for the USGP at Laguna Seca.

"Kurtis has done a good job for us during the last two races and he is improving each time he gets on the bike. Unlike the previous races, he now will have two machines available which will help him gain additional track time," he concluded.

Team Roberts has scored just four points from the first seven races of the 2007 season.