Final 2006 MotoGP entry list announced - no WCM.

The FIM has today announced the final permanent entry list for the 2006 MotoGP World Championship, which starts at Jerez, Spain, on March 26.

The most significant change from January's provisional list is that WCM, a former 500cc race winning team with Yamaha, are no longer present. The team, which has struggled with its own machines since losing Red Bull and in turn Yamaha backing at the end of 2002, is known to have been battling to find the support necessary to compete this season - but now appears to have been forced to admit defeat.

With the Blata partnership having come to nothing, Peter Clifford's team had been hoping to run KTM V4 engines in their chassis this year, with grand prix veteran Jeremy McWilliams and American rookie Jason Perez - along with Italian manufacturer Bimota - named at WCM on the provisional 2006 entry list, although this line-up was always seen as more of an intention than a certainty. Meanwhile, McWilliams will take to the track this weekend at the Daytona AMA Formula Xtreme event, riding a Buell.

Today's entry list also confirms the absence of Honda Pons - which has announced a one year withdraw from MotoGP after the loss of title sponsor Camel - while more positive changes since January are that Carlos Checa has been confirmed at Tech 3 Yamaha, alongside former WCM rider James Ellison, and Rizla have become the title sponsor of Team Suzuki MotoGP.

With Pons and WCM out of the championship, there will now be just 19 full time riders, comprising of; five Spaniards, four Americans, three Italians, two Japanese, two Australians, a Frenchman, a German and a Briton.

The full 2006 MotoGP entry list can be seen below:

#5 Colin Edwards USA Camel Yamaha Team
#6 Makoto Tamada JPN Konica Minolta Honda
#7 Carlos Checa SPA Tech 3 Yamaha
#10 Kenny Roberts Jr USA Team Roberts
#15 Sete Gibernau SPA Ducati Marlboro Team
#17 Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team
#21 John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
#24 Toni Elias SPA Fortuna Honda
#26 Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team
#27 Casey Stoner AUS Honda LCR
#30 Jose Luis Cardoso SPA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP
#33 Marco Melandri ITA Fortuna Honda
#46 Valentino Rossi ITA Camel Yamaha Team
#56 Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team
#65 Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team
#66 Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP
#69 Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team
#71 Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
#77 James Ellison GBR Tech 3 Yamaha