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There aren’t many opportunities to feel the speedy world environment out of a circuit. I actually never thought about experiencing it in a Vedado-based house. When I stepped into the residence, Valentino Rossi was staring at me. I was a stranger to him. He only returned to his position when Nirio Rivero, his owner, usheredme in and told me to take a seat.

From that moment on, Nirio Rivero began to talk about Nirio Rivero.

"I started to race in 1979, at the age of 14, since I was a big fond of bikes. Now you could say that I was already too old, but I actually was one of the youngest with that age. In that time –he explains– a permission given by the parents was required to officially race."

"I began at the National ESPA, in motocross. We were 10 athletes in this discipline, 1979-1984. That initiative was developed over some year, but it later disappeared," he tells me while recalls the times when motor sports were recognized on the Island. 

"I spent 5 years racing in the motocross world, and I even became national champion of the highest category in 1981, but due to my biotype, size and driving style, the commissioners decided to take me to the speed discipline.

That was when Nirio joined the speed biking realm.

He tells me that the main categories in Cuba were the traditional two-stroke engines: 125 cc, 150 cc and 250 cc. "They later changed to four-stroke engines, and I was racing with them since the late 1993 until I got retired."

"In Cuba, at the beginning, when I wasn’t the number one pilot, Jose Lazo was my inspiration, I learned from him, he helped me and I eventually had to leave him behind."

As for his experience in the numerous international tournaments he attended, and won, he points out that the Latin American Championships were his best races, since he conquered the crowns in superbike and supersport, but the championships held at the Socialist Countries, where Cuba played the leading role for several years, required a big deal of effort as a pilot and a team.

On his participation in the Dominican Republic’s National Championships, he says the he was known as the Pursuer, because he was racing on a 600 cc bike e invading the superbike category. "The 600 cc motorcycle had its disadvantagesand that’s why there were moments when I couldn’t lead the race. But I was always tailing the first racer, so I sometimes finished first with my 600 supersport."

Nirio explains, on his "rides", that he collected the highest number of titles with a Suzuki 1 000 cc, 2001-2002, specifically in the superbike category.

Finally, he airs his deepest concern: “Our tradition is lost; there are no racing motorcycles on the Island. But I look forward to seeing motor sports at the highest level in Cuba. I hope so."