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70-Year-Old Motorcycle Champion Angel Nieto Crashes Badly Driving a Quad

It’s only been a couple of months since Nicky Hayden’s tragic death and yet another Grand Prix superstar gets involved in a serious crash. This time it’s about Angel Nieto, who is now in hospital after having an accident on a quad bike.
Angel Nieto in 1972 1 photo
Photo: Wikimedia
According to Spanish media, 70-year-old multiple Grand Prix motorcycle road racing champion Angel Nieto is in “serious but not critical” condition after the ATV he was riding collided with a car.

Information is scarce, but sources say he was slowing down and a careless driver behind wasn’t paying attention and rammed his quad, which slammed into a parked van. At some point, Angel fell off, and he hit his head on the tarmac. Witnesses say he was not wearing a helmet.

The road was also damp at that time and the car driver, a 39-year-old German woman, was tested negative for drugs and alcohol. She most probably didn’t notice the quad was slowing down.

Angel hasn’t been through a surgery yet, with doctors keeping him in an induced coma until further investigations are being performed.

The multiple Grand Prix champion was one of the most successful junior motorcycle road racers of all time, winning 13 Grand Prix Junior World Championships, which add up to a total of 90 Grand Prix victories.

He specialized in small-displacement bike racing, starting on 50 cc in 1964. His first win was recorded in 1969 in the 50 cc German Grand Prix while his last win happened in 1985, during the 80 cc French Grand Prix.

Nieto also raced 125 cc bikes between the 1971 and 1984 championships. In fact, he won the Spanish National Grand Prix in all classes up to 750 cc. His total victories put him third after Giacomo Agostini (122) and Valentino Rossi (90).

Our thoughts and prayers go with Angel and his family. Stay close for more updates.
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