Repsol Honda team principal Livio Suppo will not be drawn on what his plans for the 2017 rider line-up are, saying only he is talking to Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez, and that it is too early to be making those kinds of decision.

Suppo believes that Jorge Lorenzo’s defection to Ducati has changed the MotoGP landscape as it releases one factory seat to a potential youngster - Maverick Vinales - but the wily Italian could also be in the hunt for Vinales’ services.

“First of all I’d like to wish all the best to Jorge Lorenzo. It’s an important step that changes the MotoGP scenario. It didn’t happen since 2011 when Valentino Rossi joined Ducati. Now a new important seat is free in Yamaha so we will see many changes,” said Suppo, speaking to Bikesport News.

“Will Ducati be a bigger threat with Lorenzo? It’s already a very competitive machine. Lorenzo’s move will have a domino effect on the riders’ market. Regarding Honda, we have two strong riders and we are very happy with them so the idea is to continue like this, but it’s too soon to speak about 2017, we have done only four races.”

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