Motorcycling's governing body the FIM has confirmed a 17-bike field for the 2010 MotoGP season.

The loss of the Hayate Kawasaki and Scot Honda teams has been balanced out by the arrival of two 250cc graduate squads, with Aspar running a Ducati for Hector Barbera and Daniel Epp's Interwetten team bringing 250cc champion Hiroshi Aoyama on a satellite Honda.

Nearly one third of the riders on the grid will be contesting a full MotoGP season for the first time. In addition to Barbera and Aoyama, highly-rated Superbike world champion Ben Spies moves across to MotoGP with Tech 3 Yamaha after various one-off outings in recent years, and former 250cc champion Marco Simoncelli will race for Gresini Honda.

Suzuki is also promoting a 250cc frontrunner by signing Alvaro Bautista, while Aleix Espargaro gets a full season with Pramac Ducati after impressing on substitute appearances last year.

This influx of rookies has resulted in several departures, with Chris Vermeulen and James Toseland returning to Superbikes after losing their Suzuki and Tech 3 rides respectively. Fellow MotoGP refugees Toni Elias, Alex de Angelis, Niccolo Canepa and Gabor Talmacsi have all opted for the new Moto2 series.

Italian team FB Corse and Spanish outfit Inmotec have both been working on new MotoGP designs with the aim of racing in 2010, but neither has been included on the official entry list.

2010 MotoGP entry list

No Rider Official team name Bike
4 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team Honda
5 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha
7 Hiroshi Aoyama Interwetten-Honda MotoGP Honda
11 Ben Spies Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha
14 Randy de Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP Honda
19 Alvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki
24 Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda
26 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team Honda
27 Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati
36 Mika Kallio Pramac Racing Team Ducati
40 Hector Barbera Aspar MotoGP Team Ducati
41 Aleix Espargaro Pramac Racing Team Ducati
46 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha
58 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda
65 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki
69 Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati
99 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha