Champ Nieto remembered
Nieto ‘will be deeply missed’ says MotoGP office after his death last week. GIANT OF MOTORCYCLING: SPANISH RACING LEGEND DIES AFTER QUAD-BIKE ACCIDENT
Spanish motorcycle racing legend Angel Nieto passed away last Thursday, succumbing to injuries sustained during a quad-bike accident in Ibiza in late July.
The MotoGP Information office sent out the following obituary:
@ A true giant of motorcycle racing in Spain and on the world stage, the Champion from Zamora will be deeply missed.
Nieto was a 13-time World Champion, but due to superstition would always refer to the number as 12 + 1.
Born in Castile in 1947, the Spaniard would emerge as the leading force in establishing his nation as a motorcycling world power.
He won an incredible 90 Grands Prix and took 139 podium places on his way to his 12 + 1 world titles.
Over almost two decades, Nieto set his name in stone as a true great, competing in and often dominating the 50cc, 80cc and 125cc Championships he entered.
This dominance and brilliance over 19 years at the top established him as one of the all-time elite – alongside the likes of Giacomo Agostini, Valentino Rossi, Mike Hailwood and Phil Read in the annals of two-wheeled history.
Six 50cc World Championships and seven on 125cc machinery also make Nieto the rider to have won the most titles with different manufacturers.
The Spaniard rode and won for Derbi, Bultaco, Garelli, Minarelli and Kreidler on the world stage.
He also took domestic titles in every conceivable class from 50cc up to 750cc in his native Spain, set- ting his legend in stone at home as well as on the world stage.
His cavalier charisma and character were a great reflection of the late 1960s and ’70s, with his personality more than matching his achievements on track.
Later Nieto was also a team manager, at the helm when Emilio Alzamora won the 125 World Championship in 1999, and became the head of a motorcycling dynasty as family members followed his path into the world of two wheels.
The Nieto name remains synonymous with Spanish motorcycling and the 12 + 1 World Champion will be deeply missed; forever remaining an inspiration to his nation and to the entire MotoGP™ paddock.
The Motorcycle Grands Prix Angel Nieto won 90