Photo: Hans Peters for Anefo / CC BY-SA 3.0 nl (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Ángel Nieto is a name I use the word legend for sparingly, and he earns it completely. Thirteen world championships in the small-displacement classes, won during the dark final years of Franco's Spain, made him a national hero who handed a struggling country something to cheer. I love that he was superstitious enough to call his tally twelve-plus-one, a touch of humility and humor in a fierce competitor. His death in 2017 was a genuine loss, but his place in the MotoGP Legends is permanent. I have deep respect for a small man who conquered the world on two wheels through sheer, relentless will.
Overview
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 victories in a racing career that spanned twenty-three years from 1964 to 1986, mainly competing in 50cc, 80cc and 125cc displacement classes respectively.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ángel Nieto
- Name (Japanese)
- アンヘル・ニエト
- Reading
- あんへる・にえと
- Born
- January 25, 1947 – August 3, 2017
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Boar
- Origin
- Zamora, Zamora Province, Spain
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- motorcycle racer / team manager / sports commentator
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 1993 Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Sports Merit
- 1986 Adopted Son of Madrid
- 2018 gold Medal of the Community of Madrid
- Order of Civil Merit
- 2008 Order of the Second of May
- 2000 MotoGP Legends
- 1999 Marca Leyenda
- 1987 FIM Gold Medal for Motorcycle Merit
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Motorcycle racer — see all → · More people from Spain →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.