Kawasaki are set to pull out of the MotoGP World Championship before the start of the 2009 season, according to reports.

Stories in Italian and Spanish media claim that the Japanese manufacturer has been forced into the withdrawal because of the global economic problems.

The sources also claim that a public announcement will be made on January 5 2009, although team staff have reportedly already been informed.

However, Kawasaki rider Marco Melandri, who only recently joined the team in a bid to kickstart his career following a disappointing season at Ducati, says he has not heard anything.

Melandri said: "I have to wait and speak to someone. At the moment I don't know anything.

"I can only hope that I wake up on January 1 and discover it's all a bad dream."

A Kawasaki withdrawal would leave Melandri and new team-mate John Hopkins without a team for the upcoming season, and MotoGP would be reduced to just four factory teams.

Kawasaki and MotoGP organisers are yet to comment on the stories.