Aspar is to be ren🀅amed as the 'Angel Nieto Team' in tribute to the l🅘ate '12+1' world champion, a former rival and mentor of Jorge Martinez 'Aspar'.

In addition, Angel's son Gelete will join as team 𝐆principal for 2018.

Aspar's racing activities extend from the Spanish Championship and Moto3 Junior World 🔯Championship, to the Moto3 and MotoGP World Championships.

“Ángel Nieto is synonymous with motorcycle racing, a sport that gave him so much and to which he gave so much in return. Motorcycle racing is what it is in Spain thanks to the man 🎀who laid the first stone and we want to pay homage to that fact by renaming our team the Ángel Nieto Team,” explained Jorge Martinez 'Aspar', a four-time world champion as a rider, who has overseen a further four world titles as a team boss since hanging up his leathers in 1997.

“You would always learn so much from being alongside him. Ángel helped so man♑y people, me amongst others, and he was an important part of my life, as are his sons Gelete and Pablo [now t🐼eam manager of Sky Racing VR46] and his nephew Fonsi [now rider coach at Pramac Ducati].

"Ángel was particularly excited about this wholeꦬ project. He trusted me to give Gelete his start in racing and he told me, 'I know that with you he will learn'. To be able to pay tribute to his memory and continue with this project in the hands of his eldest son, who was one of the first to ride for my team, gives me enormous pride.”

Gelete Nieto competed with Aspar from 1993 to 1997, p👍icking up a European Championship victory in Barcelona and another in the Spanish Championship at Jerez, as well as making 28 Grand Prix appearances.

Gelete was the first of the Nieto family to ⛎race for🌳 Aspar, soon followed by his brother Pablo and cousin Fonsi.

Stando🎶ut moments i🐓ncluded Pablo's victory in the Grand Prix of Portugal in 2003 and Fonsi's 250cc World Championship runner-up season in 2002.

Aspar a🐠dded that Ángel Nieto “was the reason why so many Spa🐎niards, including myself, his sons and so many others, wanted to dedicate our lives to racing and became champions of our passion.

"Thanks to him, we🐓 have the best fans in the world. Ángel will live forever, he will never leave our hearts and with this gesture he w♊ill be even more in our minds, if that were possible, as we continue to produce champions and keep the flame of our passion for this sport alive.”

Aspar will run Alvaro Bautista and Karel Abraham on Ducati machinery in MoꦑtoGP next season, plus Andrea Migno and Albert Arenas on KTMs in the Moto3𒊎 World Championship.

Bautista is one of the Aspar Team's four🌃 (125cc) world champions alongside Gabor Talmacsi, Julian Simon and Nico Terol.