Jorge Martinez Pays Tribute to the Late Angel Nieto by Renaming Team

“Motorcycle racing is what it is in Spain thanks to the man who laid the first stone,” said Jorge Martínez said. “We want to pay homage to that fact by renaming our team the Ángel Nieto Team.”

(Image: RTVE)

Spanish GP racer Angel Nieto was 70 years old when he succumbed to the brain damage he sustained due to a traffic accident. His compatriot, team owner Jorge Martinez “Aspar”, also a four-time world champion, was a rival on the tracks and a friend off of it and made a change in his team’s name to honor him.

“Motorcycle racing is what it is in Spain thanks to the man who laid the first stone,” Martinez said. “We want to pay homage to that fact by renaming our team the Angel Nieto Team.”His name isn’t the only part of Nieto that will join the team, however, as his 41-year-old son Gelete was concurrently announced to become the new sporting director to help continue the family legacy. Following soon after, his brother Paolo and cousin Fonsi joined the Aspar team as well. Also in the team are MotoGP riders Karel Abraham and Alvaro Bautista.

(Image: AutoSport)

Nieto Jr. made his Grand Prix debut with the Aspar team, competing with them from 1993 to ’97, picking up a European Championship victory along the way in Barcelona and another one in Spain in the Spanish Championship at Jerez, making a total of 28 GP appearances.

Both Gelete Nieto and Jorge Martínez remarked on the importance of the other in their lives, Martínes mentioning how “Angel was particularly excited about this whole project” and Gelete, “I am sure he would have loved to be around for a few more [seasons]”. Gelete’s father had his last and 50th season in 2016 in the World Championship.

“[He] was the reason why so many Spaniards, including myself,” Martínez added, “his sons and so many others, wanted to dedicate our lives to racing and became champions of our passion.

“Angel will live forever, he will never leave our hearts and with this gesture, he will be even more in our minds, if that were possible, as we continue to produce champions and keep the flame of our passion for this sport alive.”

The Angel Nieto Team will be participating in several levels of motorcycle racing including the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3™ Junior World Championship as well as the Moto3 and MotoGP World Championships.