# Fonsi Nieto

Alfonso González Nieto (born 2 December 1978 in Madrid, Spain), 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.
After the dramatic injury he began his career as a DJ and music producer, playing regularly at venues in Spain.
He is currently the Rider Performance Director for Pramac Racing.

## 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 2005 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 2006 and 2007 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 2008 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 2009 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

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Class | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pos | Pts |
| 1997 | 125cc | Aprilia | MAL | JPN | SPA 16 | ITA | AUT | FRA | NED | IMO | GER | BRA | GBR | CZE | CAT | INA | AUS | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1998 | 125cc | Aprilia | JPN | MAL | SPA 15 | ITA | FRA | MAD 14 | NED | GBR | GER | CZE | IMO | CAT 17 | AUS | ARG | | | | | 29th | 3 |
| 1999 | 250cc | Yamaha | MAL 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 | | | 23rd | 10 |
| 2000 | 250cc | Yamaha | RSA 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 | | | 14th | 35 |
| 2001 | 250cc | Aprilia | JPN 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 | | | 5th | 167 |
| 2002 | 250cc | Aprilia | JPN 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 | | | 2nd | 241 |
| 2003 | 250cc | Aprilia | JPN 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 | | | 5th | 194 |
| 2004 | 250cc | Aprilia | RSA 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 | | | 7th | 124 |
| 2007 | MotoGP | Kawasaki | QAT | SPA | TUR | CHN | FRA 11 | ITA | CAT | GBR | NED | GER | USA | CZE | RSM | POR | JPN | AUS | MAL | VAL | 22nd | 5 |
| 2010 | Moto2 | Moriwaki | QAT 13 | SPA 21 | FRA 8 | ITA 15 | GBR 11 | NED Ret | CAT 8 | GER 4 | CZE 13 | INP DNS | SMR | ARA Ret | JPN Ret | MAL 19 | AUS 12 | POR 24 | VAL Ret | | 18th | 45 |