'Nello' Pagani

One of Italy’s greatest motorbike racers died last month in his native Milan. He was 92.

Riding in the 1930s and the immediate post-war period, Pagani won five Italian titles as well as the ’49 world 125cc crown. He retired in ’56 and managed the MV Agusta team until ’60, overseeing John Surtees’s four world 500cc titles.

From 1947-50, Pagani dabbled with car racing, mainly in the Maseratis of Scuderia Plate. The highlight of his four-wheel career was beating a strong field to win the 1948 Pau GP.