Fonsi Nieto


Alfonso González Nieto, 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 class he moved to World Superbikes and made one MotoGP start. For 2010 he returned to the Grand Prix scene in the newly formed Moto2 category. Nieto announced his retirement from competition in early 2011 after failing to recover from injuries suffered when racing at Indianapolis in 2010.

Early years

He won the Spanish 125cc championship in 1998, and the Spanish 250cc champion in 1999 and 2000, also winning the less prestigious European 125cc title in 1997. In 1999 and 2000 he raced in the 250cc World Championship alongside his domestic commitments, finishing 14th overall on a Yamaha TZ250 with a best result of 6th at Estoril in 2000.

250cc World Championship

He was 4th in the world championship in 2001, with 4 successive 5th places early in the season and a pair of late-season podium finishes. He won 4 races in 2002, finishing 2nd to Marco Melandri. He was then 5th in 2003 with a win at Donington Park, and 7th in 2004.

Superbike World Championship

In he entered the Superbike World Championship with the Caracchi Ducati team, finishing 17th overall in the championship. A fourth in Round 4 of the season was the highlight; he only reached the top 10 once more. For and he rode for PSG-Kawasaki. His first podium finish came in Race 2 at Assen in 2006, following teammate Chris Walker's victory in the first race. He was also third at Magny-Cours in 2007. He took pole position at Lausitzring in 2007 after finding a dry spell in a wet qualifying session.
In 2007 he also replaced the injured Olivier Jacque in the French Grand Prix making his debut in the MotoGP class, finishing the race in 11th place.
For he joined Alstare Suzuki, making an immediate impact by winning his first world superbike race in the second race of the opening round in Qatar. He finished the season 7th overall, but lost his ride as the team scaled back to two riders and retained the less successful Japanese Yukio Kagayama. However, Nieto returned to the team mid-season after Max Neukirchner was injured.

Career statistics

Races by year

YearClassBike123456789101112131415161718PosPts
1997125ccApriliaMALJPNSPA
16		ITAAUTFRANEDIMOGERBRAGBRCZECATINAAUSNC0
1998125ccApriliaJPNMALSPA
15		ITAFRAMAD
14		NEDGBRGERCZEIMOCAT
17		AUSARG29th3
1999250ccYamahaMAL
22		JPN
14		SPA
18		FRA
12		ITA
17		CAT
Ret		NED
19		GBR
17		GER
18		CZE
17		IMO
18		VAL
15		AUS
16		RSA
15		BRA
17		ARG
14		23rd10
2000250ccYamahaRSA
Ret		MAL
Ret		JPN
22		SPA
16		FRA
16		ITA
9		CAT
18		NED
16		GBR
18		GER
12		CZE
Ret		POR
6		VAL
17		BRA
11		PAC
14		AUS
9		14th35
2001250ccApriliaJPN
11		RSA
5		SPA
5		FRA
5		ITA
5		CAT
5		NED
DNS		GBR
6		GER
10		CZE
7		POR
4		VAL
3		PAC
4		AUS
5		MAL
3		BRA
4		5th167
2002250ccApriliaJPN
13		RSA
3		SPA
1		FRA
1		ITA
3		CAT
3		NED
5		GBR
2		GER
4		CZE
4		POR
1		BRA
Ret		PAC
4		MAL
1		AUS
2		VAL
Ret		2nd241
2003250ccApriliaJPN
6		RSA
7		SPA
7		FRA
4		ITA
2		CAT
2		NED
Ret		GBR
1		GER
2		CZE
6		POR
9		BRA
Ret		PAC
8		MAL
3		AUS
3		VAL
5		5th194
2004250ccApriliaRSA
7		SPA
3		FRA
7		ITA
5		CAT
5		NED
8		BRA
5		GER
8		GBR
5		CZE
Ret		POR
Ret		JPN
Ret		QAT
5		MAL
7		AUS
Ret		VAL
6		7th124
2007MotoGPKawasakiQATSPATURCHNFRA
11		ITACATGBRNEDGERUSACZERSMPORJPNAUSMALVAL22nd5
2010Moto2MoriwakiQAT
13		SPA
21		FRA
8		ITA
15		GBR
11		NED
Ret		CAT
8		GER
4		CZE
13		IND
DNS		SMRARA
Ret		JPN
Ret		MAL
19		AUS
12		POR
24		VAL
Ret		18th45