Angel Nieto Team names Terol for MotoE

The second rider has been confirmed for next year's inaugural FIM MotoE electric-bike World Cup.

Following confirmation that Jesko Raffin will ride a Dynavolt-branded bike, the Angel Nieto (Aspar) Team has announced former 125cc world champion Nico Terol as one of its riders.

Terol spent five seasons with the Valencian team – the best of which was 2011, with seven pole positions, eight victories and eleven podiums on his way to the junior class crown.  

“I am very happy to be able to announce that I will be making my return to racing with the team that I became World Champion with in 2011," Terol said. "This is an opportunity to fight for a pioneering championship.

"It is not so much a homecoming because I am already working with the team, albeit in a different capacity, working with our young riders, but whenever I watch from trackside I am biting my nails because I still have that hunger to race myself. The good thing is that you learn a lot from watching on from the side. When you are a rider there are so many things you don't see, but I think I am maturing a lot in certain aspects that maybe I was lacking in the past.

"I think the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup is a very good idea, an idea from Dorna that will form part of the World Championship, and the response to it has been good. The bike looks good, it seems more agile than its weight might suggest and I think it will be faster than we all expect. The power response will be very linear, I think it will be spectacular. I could test it during the Spanish GP and my feelings were really positive.

"I have an exciting year ahead of me now, because I will continue to work with the riders in the Ángel Nieto Junior Team, as well as training hard to be ready for the first race of next season. The good thing is that I get to train every day with the kids, who have a lot of energy and a lot of hunger, a bit like Valentino Rossi with his Academy.

"There is nothing better than training with quality riders, especially young ones. I have dropped the intensity from my own training of late but I have never stopped ticking over and now I can make a programme to return to my peak in the coming months.”

The FIM Enel MotoE World Cup grid will be made up of 18 riders, with bikes run by the Independent MotoGP teams, plus some Moto2 and Moto3 teams. The new championship will feature five races.

Jorge Martínez 'Aspar' said:"It is a great satisfaction to have Nico Terol back as our rider, this time in the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup. With all the good years we have with him, with the victories and the podiums he has achieved with us, it is a very positive feeling to be able to count on him in this new structure.

"We were world champions together and he is one of the most important members of the junior team structure. Our goal will be to build a winning project in this new competition."

Bradley Smith is also pondering a place in MotoE next year, alongside Aprilia testing and wild-card duties, while Troy Corser also expressed an interest in the class at Aragon.