Aspar Racing boss Jorge Martinez has confirmed this afternoon his squad will move into the MotoGP class next season, running Desmosedicis in a two- year deal with Ducati.

The Spanish former champion has been trying to get into the blue riband class for three years and has had talks in the past with Ducati, Suzuki and Kawasaki. It is believed he will retain 250cc rider Alvaro Bautista for the ride.

“It seems that after three years we are finally able to achieve our dream of presenting a MotoGP project. It’s been three years of fighting and looking for the best option and, after sounding out various factories, we have finally reached an agreement with Ducati," said Martinez.

"I hope that this will be a fruitful arrangement that will continue in the long term. In theory we will have one rider in 2010, with the idea being to expand to two in 2011. Our goal is primarily to grow strong in MotoGP from a technical viewpoint. We will continue with the 125cc team and compete in the Moto2 class, so we feel that this is a big step for the whole team.

"Today the big news is that we are moving up to MotoGP with Ducati, so the second thing that we have to do is confirm a rider. We hope to be able to do this by the time we get to Brno.”