Alex de Angelis replaces Colin Edwards in MotoGP for rest of 2014

Edwards said at Indianapolis last weekend that he was likely to bring forward his retirement from MotoGP and might only contest the Silverstone and Valencia rounds in the second part of his farewell campaign.

The Forward team on Monday confirmed that Edwards would be stepping down early, but said his plans for the rest of 2014 were yet to be determined, with a development role and some wildcard appearances on a third bike possible.

Edwards will definitely miss this weekend's Czech Grand Prix, where de Angelis will make his return, but the American left the door open to contesting the following round at Silverstone.

"I'm not 100 per cent certain about how many races I will do till the end of the season but I will be in Silverstone, whether I will be racing or not," said Edwards.

"I have big fan support there and I cannot miss this appointment.

"I am thinking about my future, the different possibilities. I'm happy and I look forward to the second part of my life."

Edwards finished 13th at Indianapolis on Sunday in what could have been his MotoGP finale.

The Texan joined the MotoGP field in 2003 with two World Superbike titles behind him.

His MotoGP heyday came during a three-year stint as Valentino Rossi's factory Yamaha team-mate in 2005-07, after which he played a pivotal role in Tech 3's emergence as a frontrunner before spending the last three seasons with the Forward squad.

Although he never won a grand prix - a last-corner incident at Assen in 2006 famously costing him his best chance - Edwards took 12 podium finishes and three poles.

His replacement de Angelis had two seasons in MotoGP with Gresini in 2008-09 and has raced in Moto2 since, bar a handful of returns to the top class as a stand-in rider with Interwetten and Pramac.