Jorge Martínez ‘Aspar’ will be honoured at the Grand Prix of Spain this weekend in a ceremony set to take place after MotoGP warm up, when the multiple World Champion and Spanish motorcycle racing legend will have a corner named after him. Turn eight at Jerez will become known as the ‘Aspar’ corner, with representatives from the circuit authority set to oversee the brief ceremony.
Turn eight, the second left-hander after the back straight, comes just before ‘Nieto’ and ‘Peluqui’. “It is a long, rounded corner with a virtually blind entry,” explains Aspar himself. “On the way out the riders have to get on the throttle and control the rear tyre, which tends to slide as you head for the straight that leads to Nieto. I don’t think they could have chosen a better corner to put my name to. It is very technical and I have liked it ever since I rode here for the first time in 1986, when I won (Spanish Championship), in the inaugural race at this track.”
From its early days as a street race to its current status as the ‘Cathedral’ of Spanish road racing, Jorge Martínez ‘Aspar’ has lived through every era of racing at Jerez, winning the first ever 80cc Grand Prix here in 1987 and dominating at the track throughout the late ’80s.
