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Bultaco 50 1976
After the Derbi company withdrew from racing,
Angel Nieto was taken on by the Dutch Van Veen team for the 1975 season.
The news of Nieto's defection was not well received in Spain. Nieto had always
raced Spanish motorcycles, helping to call other countries' attention to the
products of Spanish industry. It would look bad for Spain if the finest Spanish
racer had to go abroad to find competitive vehicles to ride when the Spanish
manufacturers— Bultaco, Derbi, and Ossa—could all provide him with fine
two-wheelers. Disregarding these patriotic arguments, Nieto rode for Kreidler-Van
Veen and won the 1975 championship.
At this point the Spanish motorcycling federation got through to him, persuading
him to leave the Dutch team and ride two new motorcycles that had been acquired
by the Piovaticci team from Bultaco.
Piovaticci team was Italian, and Eugenio
Lazzarini, who rode for it, had come in second behind Nieto in the 50 class. The
team also had two Dutch designers, Jan Thiel and Martin Mijwaart, to provide its
members with the finest in technical assistance.
The Bultaco 50 Grand Prix that Nieto rode was tuned in Spain, and with it Nieto
won five Grand Prix and his seventh world championship.
The Motorcycle: Bultaco 50
Manufacturer: C.ia Espafiola de Motores
S.A. "Bultaco Motorcycles," S. Adrian
de Besos, Barcelona Type: Racing Year: 1976
Engine: Bultaco single-cylinder, two-stroke, with rotating-disk distribution.
Displacement 50 cc. (40 mm. x 39 mm.)
Cooling: Water
Transmission: Six-speed block Power: Over 17 h.p. at 16,000 r.p.m. Maximum
speed: Over 115 m.p.h. Chassis: Single-piece body and chassis.
Front and rear, telescopic suspension Brakes: Front and rear, hydraulic disk
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