Nico Terol · Biography

On 6 November 2011, at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Cheste, Nicolás Terol Peidro was crowned 125cc world champion with the Bankia Aspar Team on an Aprilia. It was the last title in that class, which made way for Moto3 in 2012. Born on 27 September 1988 in Alcoy, in the province of Alicante, Terol raced in the Grand Prix world championship from 2004 to 2014. He then moved to the Superbike and Supersport world championships, rode in the inaugural MotoE World Cup in 2019 and in 2023 became sporting director of the team founded by Jorge Martínez, known as “Aspar”.

Early years with Derbi (2004-2007)

Terol made his world championship debut in 2004 with a single race on a Globet.com Racing Aprilia, finishing outside the points. His first full season came in 2005 with Caja Madrid-Derbi Racing: thirteen races, one point and 36th place overall. In 2006, still with Derbi, he moved forward with 53 points and 14th in the standings. The 2007 campaign, with Valsir Seedorf Racing and again on a Derbi, went less well: 19 points and 22nd place.

First wins and runner-up (2008-2010)

The switch to Aprilia in 2008, with the Jack & Jones WRB team, changed his results. That year he took his first win at the Indianapolis Grand Prix, a rain-shortened race that was called with him in the lead, and finished fifth in the championship with 176 points and five podiums. In 2009 he won again, this time at Brno, and ended the year third on 179.5 points. In 2010 he joined the Aspar Team, then sponsored by Bancaja. He won three races, reached the podium fourteen times in sixteen starts and scored 296 points, finishing runner-up to Marc Márquez.

125cc world champion (2011)

The 2011 season opened with three straight wins, in Qatar, Jerez and Estoril, and Terol led the standings from the first race onwards. At Le Mans he settled for a podium on the day Maverick Viñales won his first Grand Prix. He went on to win at Montmeló, Mugello, Indianapolis, Misano and Aragón, for a total of eight victories, along with seven poles and eleven podiums from sixteen races. His main rival was Frenchman Johann Zarco, who strung together second places and chipped away at the gap in the second half of the year. The title was settled at the final round, the Valencian Community Grand Prix, where Zarco crashed in the opening laps. Terol finished the championship on 302 points, 40 ahead of Zarco, with Viñales third.

Moto2 with the Mapfre Aspar Team (2012-2014)

With the 125cc class gone, Terol stepped up to Moto2 in 2012 with the Mapfre Aspar Team on a Suter. His first year in the class brought 37 points, 17th place and a single podium, in Valencia. His best intermediate-class season came in 2013: he won the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, his first Moto2 victory, added wins at Aragón and Valencia and finished seventh with 150 points. The 2014 season was far harder. His only points came from 14th place in Argentina, and he ended the year 28th with 2 points. In all he started 50 Moto2 races, with three wins, five podiums and one pole.

Superbike, Supersport and first retirement (2015-2017)

In 2015 he left Grand Prix racing for the Superbike World Championship, riding the Althea Racing Ducati Panigale R. After twelve races and 54 points, rider and team parted ways by mutual agreement mid-season, and Terol finished 17th overall. That same year he rode the last three rounds of the Supersport World Championship for MV Agusta, standing in for the injured Jules Cluzel, and scored 23 points. In 2016 he raced in Supersport with Schmidt Racing, again on an MV Agusta, and took a podium at MotorLand Aragón, but left the team before the championship ended. In February 2017 he announced his retirement from racing and became a rider adviser for the Aspar Team in Moto3.

MotoE, endurance and sporting director (2019-2023)

The retirement did not last. In 2019 he returned for the first edition of the MotoE World Cup, on an Energica run by the Ángel Nieto Team, the successor to the Aspar Team, and finished 12th with 33 points. In 2020 he took part in the Endurance World Championship as a reserve rider for VRD Igol Pierret Experiences. He remained linked to the Aspar organisation as sporting adviser to its junior team, and in 2023 he replaced Gino Borsoi, who had held the post since 2006, as sporting director of the Aspar Team.