Source: Supplied.

Aspar Team has announced Karel Abraham will make a comeback to the MotoGP World Championship in 2017 aboard a Ducati Desmosedici GP15 alongside Spaniard Alvaro Bautista.

Following a one-off season in the WorldSBK with Milwaukee BMW and a handful of tests with KTM’s factory MotoGP effort, Abraham will return to grand prix racing fulltime next season.

“I am really pleased to come back to MotoGP,” Abraham said. “I started to work on this goal as soon as I knew there was a possibility. I am really happy coming back to Ducati, which is my favourite bike and also thinking about my first season with them, which was my best season.

“It’s an honour to be a part of this team, which is so famous in the paddock, so professional and so good and together with Ducati I believe we can make a very good connection, I’m really looking forward to that.”

Jorge Martínez ‘Aspar’ said: “We are happy to be joined by Karel Abraham for next season. He is a new rider for us, he is still young but he has a lot of experience – he has raced in every category of the world championship and in MotoGP already on a Ducati. I hope and want to be able to give him a competitive crew and bike so that he can show his worth.”

Abraham began his world championship career in the 125cc class, making his debut in the Spanish Grand Prix back in 2005. In 2007 he moved up to the 250cc class and then enjoyed his greatest success in Moto2, scoring a memorable victory in the final round of the 2010 season at Valencia.

That win proved to be his last appearance in the intermediate class as he moved up to MotoGP for 2011, riding a Ducati to 14th place in the championship for two-successive seasons. Abraham scored his best MotoGP result on the Ducati, which he guided to seventh place at Jerez and Silverstone in 2011 and at Valencia in 2012.