After the news that Colin Edwards would be taking early retirement comes news of his successor. As had been widely trailed, Alex De Angelis is to take Edwards' spot in the NGM Forward Racing team for the remainder of 2014, while Edwards will return to do a wildcard at Silverstone at least. De Angelis has been racing for the Tasca Racing team in Moto2 this season, his place will be taken by the Italian rider Riccardo Russo.

De Angelis will concentrate on riding the Forward Racing chassis, rather than the Yamaha chassis, while Colin Edwards will continue to work in an advisory role. De Angelis has previous experience, both in MotoGP and with Bridgestone tires, having spent two full seasons in the class in 2008 and 2009 with Gresini Honda, as well as replacing the injured Hiroshi Aoyama in 2010, and Ben Spies at Pramac Ducati for the Laguna Seca round of MotoGP. No doubt his experience in the class and with the tires played a role in Forward's choice.

Below is the press release issued by Forward racing making the announcement:

NGM Forward Racing and Alex De Angelis together in the second part of the 2014 season

The NGM Forward Racing Team announces that Alex De Angelis will race alongside Aleix Espargaro starting from the GP of Czech Republic on board of a Forward Yamaha.

Alex will replace Colin Edwards who announced the retirement from racing competition but will continue to be a key figure in the NGM Forward Racing team.

Giovanni Cuzari

“I have always considered our team as a big family and Alex has already been part of our team. Moreover he has experience in MotoGP so I thought that he was the best rider to line up with our colours and I’m happy to give him this opportunity to return in the premiere class”.

Alex De Angelis

“It’s a dream come true for me to return in MotoGP. I was working on this project last year, when I was racing with this team. Racing the second part of the championship with the NGM Forward Racing Team on board of a Forward Yamaha it’s a great occasion and I’d like to thank Giovanni Cuzari for this opportunity as well as the Tasca Racing Team that released me. I know that it won’t be easy for me to be competitive from the beginning as we have no time test the bike before Brno, but we will give my best. I can count on a very good team and competitive package so I really look forward to it.”