Ángel Nieto
(Zamora, 1947-Ibiza, 2017) Spanish motorcyclist pilot.Born into a humble family, he emigrated to Madrid at the age of ten, and apprenticed in a Vallecas workshop to contribute to the family budget.Without the means to acquire a mount with which to participate in official competitions, he moved to Barcelona, where he found a job at the Derbi motorcycle factory.His first machine cost him two thousand pesetas; It was second hand and did not exceed 40 kilometers per hour, but with it he began his learning.He began his sporting career in amateur races and began to race on the circuits, albeit falsifying his age.
Ángel Nieto
Shortly after, he managed to get the Derbi directors to They provided a 50cc motorcycle and, with little experience, in 1968 he won his first two Grand Prix.It was the beginning of a spectacular career (specialized in small displacements, for which he demonstrated extraordinary aptitudes), at the end of which, in 1986, he had won six World Championships in the 50 cc category (1969, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1976 and 1977) and seven in the 125cc category (1971, 1972, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984).Throughout his sports career he won 90 grands prix, and was on the podium five hundred times.He was also four times runner-up in the world, twenty-three times champion of Spain in the different displacements of 50, 80, 125 and 250 cc, and five times runner-up in Spain.
The spectacular numbers of his record and his courage and skill as a pilot made him a true legend, only comparable to that of the Italian pilot Giacomo Agostini in large displacement.Although his triumphs must be associated in large part to the Spanish brand Derbi, he also raced with Morbidelli, Kreidier, Bultaco, Minarelli and Garelli.In 1986 he decided to retire "because one day or another you have to go, because I no longer have fun on the bike and because, when you are thinking of retiring, you lose a second every lap".Three years later he inaugurated the Ángel Nieto Museum in Madrid, where the motorcycles with which he won the world championships are displayed, as well as decorations, trophies, photographs and video recordings.
Very superstitious man, after retiring he was referring to the "twelve plus one" victories on his record.Considered one of the best riders of all time, he was the master of the new generation of Spanish riders who stood out on the international motorcycle scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s.In 1999, the young Spanish rider Emilio Alzamora took the 125cc world title with Ángel Nieto as the technical director of his team; A year earlier he had made his debut as manager of the Vía Digital team, with the Aprilia brand.Since 1989 he has been a regular sportscaster for television.He received the Gold Medal of the Order of Sports Merit (1987) and the Grand Cross of Sports Merit (1993) in recognition of his career.
Comments
Post a Comment