CALLING all bikers on the Costa del Sol: Fans of tearing about on two wheels are urged to join in Torremolinos' annual motorcycle rally now it's back on the streets after a three-year gap.
Not seen since 2019, the Komando Bike Festival returns for October 14 to 16 inclusive – a time of year when the weather is still almost summer-like in the province of Málaga – with a mass gathering of motorbikes and a grand tour of the town, plus all-day music in the background, make this a petrolhead's paradise.
A pre-pandemic edition of Torremolinos' annual motorcycle rally (photo from Lugar de Encuentro magazine - Revistalugardeencuentro.com)
The atmosphere is still lively and festive enough that even those who do not own or ride motorcycles will still have a fun weekend, but those who do are actively encouraged to take part, since their nominal entry fee will include a donation to a vital charity set up in memory of a biking legend.
Named after Spain's '12 + 1 times' world MotoGP champion – who never referred to his as-yet unbroken record as 13 titles, out of superstition – the Ángel Nieto Foundation was created in 2018, a year after his death aged 70 in a quad-biking accident.
Nieto (pictured below), who eventually confessed to fans that he had lied about his age to be able to start working with bikes and competing before he was even out of his teens, had long since retired from the sport and was living on the island of Ibiza at the time of the fatal crash on a roundabout.
He was one of numerous riders who cited their favourite circuit as the so-called 'cathedral of motorsport', in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz province), and a few months after his passing, this was renamed the 'Ángel Nieto Circuit'.
His namesake charitable foundation, run by his sons Pablo and 'Gelete', provides aid and support to road traffic accident victims and their families.
For every entry to Torremolinos' Komando Bike Festival, the sum of €1 will go to the Ángel Nieto Foundation.
To find out how to enter, Torremolinos town hall or the organising Moto Club Komando Kamimoto can provide full details.
For those who just want to watch, no ticket charge is made, since it takes place in a public space, meaning anyone can pop along.
