Ducati rider Marco Melandri will race for the Kawasaki MotoGP team next season, the Italian has said.

The 26-year-old, who only joined Ducati at the start of the year, has had a poor season and is 15th in the standings following Sunday's Czech Grand Prix.

"I hope to get good results in the last six races of 2008 and after that I am moving to another team. I will ride for Kawasaki next year so its a big change for me," he told MotoGP's official website (www.motogp.com).

Melandri's agent announced last month the former 250cc world champion would be leaving Ducati.

Yamaha's Valentino Rossi, a winner of seven world titles across classes, leads the MotoGP standings by 50 points with Australian world champion Casey Stoner of Ducati second.

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