Ángel Nieto Roldán (25 January 1947 – 3 August 2017) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He was one of the most accomplished motorcycle racers in the history of the sport, winning 13

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and 90 Grand Prix victories in a racing career that spanned twenty-three years from 1964 to 1986, mainly engaged in 50cc, 80cc and 125cc respectively.''50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix'' (1st edition). Hazelton Publishing Ltd, 1999. His total of 90 Grand Prix victories ranks him third only to the 122 by Giacomo Agostini, and the 115 for

Valentino Rossi Valentino Rossi (; ; born 16 February 1979) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed ''The Doctor'', he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcyc ...

.Ángel Nieto career statistics at MotoGP.com
/ref> In 2011, Nieto was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.

Motorcycle racing career

Nieto specialized in racing small displacement bikes such as in the

50 cc 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 a ...

, 80 cc and 125 cc classes but many fellow racers, including former

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Barry Sheene Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing and was a two-time world champion, winning consecutive 500cc titles in 1976 and 1977 ...

consider him among the greatest motorcycle racers of all time. 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. He retired in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

at the age of 39 with a total of 90 Grand Prix victories and 13 World Championships. Due to his

triskaidekaphobia Triskaidekaphobia ( , ; ) is fear or avoidance of the number . It is also a reason for the fear of Friday the 13th, called ''paraskevidekatriaphobia'' () or ''friggatriskaidekaphobia'' (). The term was used as early as in 1910 by Isador Cori ...

, he preferred to refer to his championship tally as "12+1". Later he operated a Grand Prix motorcycle racing team with two riders – his son, Ángel Nieto Jr. and

Emilio Alzamora Emilio Alzamora Escardibul (born May 22, 1973 in Lleida, Spain) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was the 1999 F.I.M. 125cc world champion. He is the second rider to win a Grand Prix motorcycle world championship without having ...

, who won the 125 cc title. He commentated on Grand Prix races for Spanish television. There is an Ángel Nieto museum in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

that displays some of his trophies and racing memorabilia. The FIM named him a Grand Prix "Legend" in 2000. 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

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 A victory lap (also lap of honor) is a term used in motorsports to describe an extra lap of the race track after the conclusion of a race. This lap, driven at reduced speed, allows the winning driver to celebrate their victory and gives the s ...

Personal life and death

Ángel Nieto had been living in Ibiza for many years. His two sons, Ángel Jr. and

Pablo Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul. People *Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer *Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer * Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer * Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist * Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer * Pablo Br ...

, both followed their father into motorcycle racing, as well as his nephew

Fonsi Nieto Alfonso González Nieto (born 2 December 1978 in Madrid, Spain), better known as Fonsi Nieto, is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and the nephew of successful Grand Prix motorcycle road racer Ángel Nieto. After success in the 250cc c ...

. On 26 July 2017, Nieto was hit by a car while driving his

quad bike An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is strad ...

in Ibiza. He was taken to a hospital with a

head trauma A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inju ...

where he was put into a

medically-induced coma An induced comaalso known as a medically induced coma (MIC), barbiturate-induced coma, or drug-induced comais a temporary coma (a deep state of unconsciousness) brought on by a controlled dose of an anesthetic drug, often a barbiturate such as ...

and underwent surgery; his condition had been called "serious but not critical". On 3 August, his condition significantly worsened after being woken from his coma. He died the same day, aged 70.

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.

Honours

* 1982: Knight Grand Cross in the

Order of Civil Merit The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...

. * 1993: Knight Grand Cross in the

Royal Order of Sports Merit The Royal Order of Sports Merit ( es, Real Orden del Mérito Deportivo) is a Spanish civil order of merit established in 18 June 1982. The order is indented to recognise distinguished service in sports, in teaching physical education, or the man ...

Complete Grand Prix motorcycle racing results

Points system from 1964 to 1968: Points system from 1969 onwards: ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

Ángel Nieto museum photographs

Ángel Nieto documentary film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nieto, Angel 1947 births 2017 deaths People from Zamora, Spain Sportspeople from the Province of Zamora Spanish motorcycle racers 50cc World Championship riders 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders 80cc World Championship riders Road incident deaths in Spain Order of Civil Merit members Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit