A country on two wheels: the 60 titles of Spanish motorcycling

In motorcycling, each victory tells a story, and Spain does not stop adding chapters to its particular epic in the World Championship. With Jorge Martín, there are already 60 titles won since Ángel Nieto inaugurated the account in 1969. Here there is little chance and a lot of historical progression, in which the Spanish pilots, like industrious little ants, have been taking small steps until dominate all categories. Although Italy’s 81 crowns are still far away, the difference with the transalpine country has continued to diminish over the years.

It all began, it is written, when Ángel Nieto achieved that first title in the 50cc category at the controls of a Derbi. He, along with other brave men who risked their lives every weekend without much laurel, was the pioneer of a sport that until then had been little followed in Spain. Nieto became strong in the smaller displacements and extended his hegemony in the seventies and eighties, winning 12+1 titles (6 in 50cc and 7 in 125cc). He was soon joined by the late Ricardo Tormo and the also Valencian Jorge Martínez Aspar.

In those times, it was a chimera to win anything beyond the smaller displacements, although there were beginning to be some brave people who ventured to stand up to the next step: the 250cc. The queen class, 500cc, was the preserve of Americans, Australians and the always thriving Italian motorcycling.

Sito Pons was, in his own way, another precursor. The first to win in the ‘quarter liter’ with a Honda, and twice. The Catalan, along with Joan Garriga and Dani Amatriaín, was also one of the first to really try to do something important in 500cc.

But it was Álex Crivillé who, in 1992, became the first Spaniard to achieve a victory in a premier class grand prix, in Assen. Since then, twelve more drivers have achieved it, for a total of 196 wins. The one from Seva also broke the glass ceiling by winning the first 500cc world championship in 1999. He didn’t know it yet, but that day he opened the door to Spanish dominance in MotoGP. A new era began in which Spain went from being a secondary actor to a world power.

The second MotoGP title would still take eleven years, mainly due to the presence of the unbeatable Valentino Rossi. However, underneath what was simmering was what would become an absolute explosion starting in 2010. In just a decade, Jorge Lorenzo’s three crowns, Marc Márquez’s six championships and the one that, until now, It was the last triumph in the premier category: that of Joan Mir in 2020.

At the same time, Spain began to shamelessly lash out at the rest of the countries in the small categories. He added eleven titles to Sito Pons’ two in the middle class, while in the renowned Moto3 he has barely missed half a dozen titles in the last five years, for a total of 35, including the old 80cc and 50cc awards.

Champi Herreros, Emilio Alzamora, Dani Pedrosa, Toni Elías, Álvaro Bautista, Pedro Acosta… Each generation has added new layers to this success story, from the days of Derbi and Bultaco to modern victories with Honda, Yamaha, Ducati and KTM.

With 60 titles under its belt, Spain has not only consolidated its position, but every day demonstrates that its supremacy is far from over. Since 2008, he has not let a year go by without winning at least one of the crowns at stake. He has even won several triplets (2010, 2013 and 2014).

What is new is that it is a Madrid native who wins the top category title. Until now, Catalonia, with seven, and the Balearic Islands, with four, were the only communities that had achieved this.

He has won eight titles in three different categories: 125cc (2010), Moto2 (2012) and six times in MotoGP (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019).