Ángel Nieto
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Ángel Nieto Roldán born 25 January 1947 in Zamora, (Spain) is a multiple Grand Prix motorcycle roadracing World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with 13 Grand Prix World Championships to his name.
He specialized in racing small displacement bikes such as in the 50 cc, 80 cc and 125 cc classes but many fellow racers, including former world champion Barry Sheene consider him among the greatest motorcycle racers of all time.[1] Though he was never successful at the world level racing in the larger displacements, he won Spanish National Championships in the 50 cc, 125 cc, 250 cc, 500 cc and 750 cc classes.[1] He retired in 1986 at the age of 39 with a total of 90 Grand Prix victories and 13 World Championships. Known to be superstitious, he prefers to refer to his championship tally as "12+1". His total of 90 Grand Prix victories is third only to the 122 by Giacomo Agostini, and the 113 of Valentino Rossi.[2]
Later he operated a Grand Prix motorcycle racing team with his son, Ángel Nieto Jr. and Emilio Alzamora, who won the 125 cc title, as riders. He now commentates Grand Prix races for Spanish television. There is an Ángel Nieto museum in Madrid that displays some of his trophies and racing memorabilia. The FIM named him a Grand Prix "Legend" in 2000.[3] Nieto attended the 2008 French Grand Prix at the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit on 18 May 2008, dressed to ride with a special shirt congratulating Valentino Rossi for equalling Nieto's 90 wins. Nieto mounted Rossi's bike, and Rossi as a passenger held a flag aloft with "90 + 90", as they took a victory lap.[4]
Nieto on the big screen
A documentary called "Ángel Nieto: 12+1", directed by Álvaro Fernández Armero, was released in 2005. The film covers his entire career and a wide array of competitors, cyclists inspired by him and reporters who covered his career contribute their opinions and impressions regarding his fight to achieve and sustain his goal of world champion. The 1973 year, when Nieto raced with the 125 Morbidelli, is also recalled in the documentary "Morbidelli - a story of men and fast motorcycles", released in 2014 and directed by Jeffrey Zani and Matthew Gonzales.
Complete Grand Prix motorcycle racing results [2]
Points system from 1964 to 1968:
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Points | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Points system from 1969 onwards:
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Points | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
External links
- A trip to the Museum Ángel Nieto in Madrid (Spanish) (dead link)
- Ángel Nieto documentary film (dead link)
References
- 1 2 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix (1st edition). Hazelton Publishing Ltd, 1999. ISBN 1-874557-83-7
- 1 2 Ángel Nieto career statistics at MotoGP.com
- ↑ MotoGP Legends at MotoGP.com
- ↑ Rossi wins French MotoGP, AFP, 19 May 2008
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