Ricardo Tormo Blaya (September 7, 1952 – December 27, 1998) was a Spanish

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

road racer.

Biography

Tormo was born in the Spanish province of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, in Ayacor, which is a small village dependent on

Canals Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or river engineering, engineered channel (geography), channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport watercraft, vehicles (e.g. ...

. When he was 8, his family moved into the center of Canals. Tormo won the

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50cc The 50 cc class was the ultra-lightweight class in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, and formed part of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) World Championships from 1962 until 1983; when the class was replaced by 80 cc. History ...

world championship as a member of the

Bultaco Bultaco was a Spanish manufacturer of two-stroke motorcycles from 1958 to 1983. In May 2014, a new Bultaco was announced. Origins The origin of the Bultaco motorcycle company dates from May 1958. Francesc "Paco" Bultó was a director of the ...

factory racing team. He repeated as 50cc world champion in on a privately backed Bultaco.Ricardo Tormo career statistics at MotoGP.com
/ref> He was also a three-time 50cc Spanish national champion and a four-time 125cc national champion. His career was closely linked to that of

Ángel Nieto Ángel Nieto Roldán (25 January 1947 – 3 August 2017) was a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He was one of the most accomplished motorcycle racers in the history of the sport, winning 13 World Championships and 90 Grand Prix ...

, who was both a teammate and rival of Tormo. In 1983, together with Jorge “Aspar” Martínez, Tormo signed with the

Derbi Derbi is a manufacturer of motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and recreational all-terrain vehicles produced by Nacional Motor S.A.U., a Spanish subsidiary of Piaggio & Co. SpA. History Derbi's origins began with a little bicycle workshop in the v ...

factory to compete for the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

world championship in the new 80cc category. Tormo suffered an engine failure at the first race of the year at Misano. The second race of the season was to be held at Spain's

Jarama Circuit The Circuito del Jarama (Circuit of Jarama), formerly known as ''Circuito Permanente del Jarama'' (Permanent circuit of Jarama) is a motorsport racetrack located in San Sebastián de los Reyes, 20 miles (32 km) north of Madrid. It was home to th ...

. At that time, there were only two official circuits in Spain, one in Jarama and the other in

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. The team planned test rides before the race, but both circuits were already booked, forcing them to practice in

Martorelles Martorelles is a municipality in the province of Barcelona and autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It covers . Its population in 2014 was 4,783. It was in Martorelles that motorcycle ace Ricardo Tormo crashed and shattered his leg in 1984 du ...

. This region of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

was an industrial park near the

factory. The team occasionally had test runs in this area, blocking off the roads to ensure that no cars would interfere with the racers. However, during a practice prior to the Spanish Grand Prix, a vehicle gained access to the area from one of the team's assistants who was supposed to have blocked off all of the roads. Tragically, Tormo, who was testing a new racing suit, hit the car and shattered his right leg. The accident marked the end of his racing career and the beginning of a countless series of operations. In 1994, Tormo received Valencia's highest honor when he was given the Valencian Community's High Distinction award. In collaboration with the journalist Paco Desamparados, an autobiography was published, entitled "Yo Ricardo. Una vida por y para la moto". (I am Ricardo. A life by and for motorcycles). On December 27, 1998, Tormo died from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

, which he had been battling for many years. In his honor, Valencia's racetrack was renamed the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo.

Images

Image:RicardoTormo_autografo.jpg, Image:RicardoTormo casco.jpg,

Complete Grand Prix motorcycle racing results

Points system from 1969 to 1987: (

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

*
Ricardo Tormo's Circuit
* https://web.archive.org/web/20090506222853/http://www.portalmundos.com/mundomotormania/campeones/ricardotormo.htm * http://www.lahoya.net/circuitodecheste/ricardo.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20080801212254/http://reinodevalencia.com/2008/06/17/don-ricardo-tormo-blaya/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Tormo, Ricardo 1952 births 1998 deaths People from Costera Sportspeople from the Province of Valencia Spanish motorcycle racers 50cc World Championship riders 125cc World Championship riders Deaths from leukemia