According to reports, Valentino Rossi has all but confirmed that he will not attend this year Japanese Grand Prix while Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo are still thinking about it.

While the Italian had been rather quiet on the matter up to now, he has now gone one step further by appearing to make his final position public.

"I really don't think I'll go to Japan," Rossi told the BBC; the seven-time MotoGP champion admitting to concerns over the risk of radiation from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, around 110km from the Motegi circuit.

Meanwhile, both Stoner and Lorenzo now claim they are yet to make a final decision, while the only riders so far certain to attend are Hiroshi Aoyama (Gresini Honda), Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow, whose Tech 3 team has already confirmed its Motegi presence.

The rescheduled Japanese MotoGP, postponed from April, is due to take place on October 2.