Biaggi: I'm leaving Yamaha.

Italian superstar Max Biaggi today told the Gazzetta dello Sport that he will leave Yamaha at the end of the season, following four years with the team, due to 'certain guarantees' not being met.

Although no official announcement has been made by Biaggi's Marlboro Yamaha Team, who today confirmed only the presence of Carlos Checa in the factory Yamaha effort for 2003, rumours continue that the Roman Emperor has been tempted by a big money offer from Ducati to partner WSB champion Troy Bayliss in MotoGP next year.

"I have had four years of great satisfaction at Yamaha but was unable to achieve my dream of winning the World Championship," Biaggi told the paper. "I was happy to stay (but) after meeting the Yamaha management and having asked for certain guarantees, I realised the conditions to continue no longer existed."

While the 'certain guarantees' can only be speculated upon, they are thought to be based around finding a suitable replacement for Marlboro, who will end their title sponsorship of the team at the end of the year, and performance assurances form Yamaha that they will be able to challenge the mighty Honda RCV.

Speaking at the announcement of Checa's continuation with the team, Yamaha Motor Racing Managing Director Mr Lin Jarvis, remained tight lipped about Checa's teammate for next year and the teams new title sponsor.

"We are continuing our discussions with other potential riders about next year and I am sure that we will have a strong team to spearhead Yamaha's number one racing project," he said. "We are also talking with a number of potential sponsors for next year and I feel confident that we will be working with top-class commercial partners in our MotoGP program."