MV Agusta 500 4 GP racer Giacomo Agostini world champion 1968 motorcycle photo

Description

A superb and rare image of the
M.V. Agusta 500cc four cylinder works factory Grand Prix racer
of
1968
and legendary
15-times
road racing World Champion
Giacomo Agostini
.
Giacomo Agostini
was born in the Italian town of Lovere, in the province of Lombardy. He was the son of a wealthy, Italian industrialist. His father originally didn't approve of his son's motorcycle racing career. He did everything he could to persuade his son not to race. Agostini would have to steal away to compete, first in hill climb events and then in road racing. Eventually his father came to terms with his racing and he won the 1963 Italian 175cc championship aboard a Morini. He got his break when Morini factory rider,
Tarquinio
Provini
left the team to ride for Benelli.
Count
Alfonso
Morini
hired the young Agostini to ride for him. In 1964, Agostini would win the Italian 350cc title and proved his ability by finishing fourth in the Italian Grand Prix at
Monza
.
These results caught the eye of Count
Domenico
Agusta
who signed Agostini to ride for his
MV
Agusta
squad as
Mike
Hailwood
’s team-mate. Agostini then fought a season-long battle with Honda's
Jim
Redman
for the 1965 350cc world championship. He seemed to have the title won when he led the final round in
Japan
at Suzuka when, his bike failed him handing the title to Redman.
Hailwood left to join Honda as he had tired of working for the difficult
Count
Agusta
. Agostini responded by winning the 500cc title seven years in succession for the Italian factory. He would also win the 350cc title six times in succession and won 10 Isle of Man TTs. In 1967 he battled Hailwood in one of the most dramatic seasons in Grand Prix history. Each rider had 5 victories before the championship was decided in Agostini's favor at the last race of the season.
Agostini dropped a bombshell on the Grand Prix world when, after the death of his close friend, Gilberto Parlotti at the 1972 Isle of Man TT he announced he would never again race at the event because he considered it unsafe. At the time, the TT was the most prestigious race on the motorcycling calendar. Other top riders joined his boycott of the event and by 1976, the event was stricken from the Grand Prix schedule.
Agostini surprised the racing world when he announced that he would ride for Yamaha in 1974. On his first outing for the Japanese factory, he won the prestigious Daytona 200, the premiere American motorcycle race, becoming the first of would would be seven 500cc or MotoGP world champions to win the event. He went on to claim the 1974 350cc World Championship but injuries and mechanical problems kept him from winning the 500cc crown. He rebounded and won the 1975 500cc title, the first time that a two-stroke machine had claimed the premier class. It would also be his last world title. In 1976, he would win his last Grand Prix, taking an
MV
Agusta
to victory at the Nürburgring. He retired from motorcycle competition after finishing 6th in the 1977 season.
Agostini, who was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999, is considered one of the greatest Grand Prix riders of all time. In 17 years he won a record 15 Grand Prix World Championship titles and 122 Grand Prix victories. In 2000, the FIM named him a Grand Prix "Legend".
Agostini is seen riding the magnificent
M.V.
Agusta
500cc four cylinder Grand Prix racer
.
MV
Agusta
began as an offshoot of the Agusta aviation company which was formed by
Count
Giovanni
Agusta
in 1923. The Count died in 1927, leaving the company in the hands of his wife and sons, Domenico (on the photo), Vincenzo,
Mario
and Corrado. Count
Vincenzo
Agusta
together with his brother Domenico formed
MV
Agusta
(the MV stood for
Meccanica
Verghera
) at the end of the Second World War as a means to save the jobs of employees of the Agusta firm and also to fill the post-war need for cheap, efficient transportation.
Count
Vincenzo
and
Domenico
Agusta
had a passion for mechanical workings and for motorcycle racing. They were determined to have the best Grand Prix motorcycle racing team in the world and spared no expense on their passion. They achieved this goal by hiring some of the best riders of the time, namely
Carlo
Ubbiali
,
John
Surtees
,
Mike
Hailwood
,
Giacomo
Agostini
,
Phil
Read
, and others, and having the best engineers, most notably
Arturo
Magni
. The fire-engine red racing machines became a hallmark of Grand Prix racing in the 1960s and early 1970s, winning 17 consecutive 500 cc World Championships, and 63 World Championships overall.
With the death of
Count
Domenico
Agusta
in 1971, the company lost its guiding force. The company won their last Grand Prix in 1976 and by 1980, stopped producing motorcycles altogether. The Agusta aviation branch continued on with its successful helicopter business.
Interestingly, MV produced their first prototype, ironically called "Vespa," in 1945. After learning of Piaggio's brand new motorscooter of the same name, it was changed to MV 98. The company successfully manufactured small-displacement, quintessential Café racer style motorcycles (mostly 125-350 cc) through the 1950s and 1960s, followed by the big four cylinder 600cc and 750cc bikes in the 1960s and 1970s.
We have more photos listed on Ebay of MV Agusta ,
Giacomo
Agostini
and other brands with various riders.
This is your rare chance to own this photo that reflects a very interesting and historic piece of motorcycle and MV ’s history. Therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 x
30 cm
).
Shipping costs will only be $ 7.00 regardless of how many photos you buy.   For 5 or more photos, shipping is free!
(Note: A. Herl, Inc. does not appear on photo, for ebay purposes only)
No copyright expressed or implied. Sold as collectable item only. We are clearing out our archives that we have gathered from various sources.
All items always sent well protected in PVC clear files
and board backed envelopes.
We have photographs that came from professional collections and/or were bought from the original photographer or press studio! They are all of professional and excellent quality.
After many decades of professionally collecting photographs and posters we are clearing out our archives. They make the perfect gift and are perfectly suited for framing. They will look gorgeous unframed and will be a true asset nicely framed with a border. They are a gorgeous and great asset in every home, workshop, workplace, restaurant, bar or club!
First come - first served. And you can always contact us for your requests. Please ask any questions before the auction ends.