Chaz 'touch and go' after funding problems.

With just one week to go before the start of the 2006 250cc World Championship, Chaz Davies has seen his racing plans thrown up in the air after last minute financial problems.

Davies, the only British rider in the championship and the youngest ever rider to score 250cc World Championship points, has been battling with privateer machinery for the past three seasons - but looked set to fight for podiums in 2006 after clinching a deal to ride a semi-factory machine for Ticino Hosting Campetella Racing.

The funds needed to pay for that competitive bike - an Aprilia LE - were believed to be in place, but have yet to appear from a team sponsor. As such, Chaz has spent pre-season testing back on an older bike - and admits that he might not be able to compete in the full championship season if the funds don't arrive.

"At the minute it's touch and go - hopefully today something might be sorted - but as it stands, I won't be able to finish the whole season," Chaz told Crash.net at Wednesday's British MotoGP launch, in London.

And will Chaz be at Jerez for the first race? "I'm not too sure about that either yet - I don't even know why I'm at the launch to be honest! No, I'm only joking; we're not 100% sure at the moment, but fingers crossed everything will get sorted out. The team are hoping to get the funds from the sponsor today and if that all goes through then I'll be on the grid at Jerez.

"Apparently, the problem is that they couldn't get the funds out of the bank. That's the difficult part - it's all very well having it sat there but it's just getting it out - and that amount of money as well. It's not (a personal) sponsor, it's a sponsor that are linked to the team."

The financial problems mean that the 19-year-old still doesn't know what sort of bike he will ride when he (hopefully) takes his place on the Jerez grid.

"Again that's up in the air. I haven't answered one of your questions straight!" he smiled. "If the money doesn't come through then it will be a standard customer kit bike, but if it does come through it'll be a semi-factory bike - which is last year's factory bike - which is very good."

Finally, would Chaz ever consider racing in another - perhaps less financially costly - championship?

"If worse comes to worse then obviously I can't sit at home and twiddle my thumbs for a year- I'd be a bit bored - so we'd have to look elsewhere if things start going wrong," he replied. "But at the minute we've just got to see what happens. MotoGP is the paddock that you want to be in - not for the glamour or anything like that - but because it's the hardest championships in the world; MotoGP, 125 and 250. If you can stay there then stay there, but if you have to go then maybe it's for the best."