Espargaro finalizes Forward move

MotoGP's leading CRT rider Aleix Espargaro has completed his deal to move to Forward Racing for 2014, joining Colin Edwards to ride a Yamaha.

Espargaro has dominated CRT with Aspar's Aprilias for the past two years, but has been working on a release from his contract to join Forward for several months. He will replace Claudio Corti alongside Edwards in the squad.

"After two years with a CRT bike, which have been very good for me, I think the time has come for me to make a change," said Espargaro. "Forward Racing approached me with an offer, a very exciting and ambitious project involving Yamaha and FTR.

"I believe it can be a competitive bike and the project itself with the team is something that I am excited about."

Aspar has signed factory Ducati exile Nicky Hayden for next year, and after initially being lined up for a new project with Aprilia, will now run production Hondas.