Kawasaki, Eckl reach agreement.

After several months of discussion following the sudden departure of Harald Eckl from Kawasaki's MotoGP programme back in November, the Japanese company has confirmed that it has solved its dispute with the man who had run its MotoGP entry since 2002.

Eckl had a contract until the end of 2007 but his deal was terminated early and the MotoGP programme taken 'in house' after the company was confronted with Eckl's 'serious involvement with a competitor's MotoGP activities', believed to be the new Illmor team.

Following apologies from Eckl for the situation that led to the termination of his deal, negotiations followed in Japan and Kawasaki and Eckl worked out a solution with both parties declaring that negotiations had been 'constructive' and they were 'happy that further legal escalation could be avoided'.

"I'm really happy that after years of cooperation this could now finally be brought to a good end," Eckl said. "I wish Kawasaki all the success for the future".

Further information about the deal will not be disclosed.