Ahead of the this weekend's German MotoGP at Sachsenring, Aprilia announced the departure of Marco Melandri.
"Aprilia Racing and Marco Melandri have reached an agreement by mutual consent to terminate the contractual obligations between Marco Melandri and Aprilia Racing.
"Consequently, Marco Melandri will no longer be lined up on the grid with Aprilia Racing starting from the German Grand Prix on 12 July.
"Aprilia Racing wishes Marco Melandri all the best in his future endeavors."
Speculations have arisen pertaining to Melandri's exit since having a poor start to his comeback season.
To replace the former 250cc world champion, Aprilia factory boss Romano Albesiano announced test driver Michael Laverty as his stand-in for the upcoming MotoGP.
The 34-year-old Briton who raced for PBM in MotoGP during 2013 and 2014 before returning to BSB this season, where he is a seven-time race winner was named as a wildcard replacement.
"A warm welcome to Laverty: with Michael working alongside Bautista we will continue development efforts on our bike directly in the races," Albesiano said. "Michael has worked a lot in recent months. With his indications after his first race we'll be able to streamline development, especially in terms of the chassis, where right now we are the most limited."
It remains to be seen if Laverty will be riding for the Italian outfit for the rest of the year or merely a substitute for this weekend's event.
Michael's MotoGP comeback means he will be racing alongside younger brother Eugene, who is in his rookie year in premier-class with Aspar.
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