Angel Nieto Team reverts to Aspar Team name from 2020

The Aspar Team will return to racing in 2020 as the squad reverts to its original name while keeping strong ties to Angel Nieto through the Angel Nieto Foundation.

Following the passing of 13-time world champion Angel Nieto two years ago, Jorge Martinez ‘Aspar’ launched a tribute to the iconic rider by renaming his team after the Spaniard for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Heading into 2020, the four-time 125cc world champions will return to its original name. Jorge Martinez has become a patron of the Angel Nieto Foundation and its logos are set to appear on the Aspar 2020 bikes.

Aspar will continue to compete in the Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE classes on the international stage, with the team also running an outfit in the FIM CEV Moto3 Junior world championship, European Talent Cup and Red Bull Rookies Cup.

“It has been and it always will be a pleasure to carry the name of Angel Nieto around the circuits of the world championship,” Aspar said. “Over the period we have dedicated our team name to him, we have managed to take his name back to the top step of the podium on three occasions.

“I will be forever grateful to Angel Nieto and his family, but this is not a full stop, rather a comma as we continue to collaborate with the Angel Nieto Foundation. I am patron of the foundation and the Nieto family, headed by Gelete and Pablo, is my family too.

“We are delighted to keep giving our best to the sport of motorcycle racing and to continue bringing young riders through to the world championship, achieving great results, just as Don Angel Nieto himself would have done.”

For 2020 Hafizh Syahrin and Aron Canet form Aspar’s Moto2 rider line-up as the team switches to Speed Up chassis following KTM’s withdrawal from the intermediate class, while in Moto3 Albert Arenas and Stefano Nepa form its rider line-up next year.

Aspar left the MotoGP premier class at the end of the 2018 season after a nine-year stay.