Dark side of the Agusta family behind one of motorcycling’s great grand prix teams
As MV Agusta prepares to return to mainstream motorcycle racing, we reflect on Count Domenico Agusta. He built one of the great grand prix teams of the 1960s and 1970s, but behind the scenes his family also had a darker side
Taken from Motor Sport, September 2018
MV Agusta won its last grand prix race in August 1976, when Giacomo Agostini rode to victory in the West German 500cc Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. Yet despite being out of grand prix racing for the past four decades the Italian marque still ranks as motorcycling’s fourth most successful constructor, behind Honda, Yamaha and fellow Italian brand Aprilia.
This statistic gives some measure of the stature of MV Agusta, a name that once resonated in the world of motorcycling as Ferrari still does in the car world. Between 1952 and 1976 MV Agusta took 275 grand prix victories and 75 riders’ and constructors’ world championships across the 125, 250, 350 and 500cc categories. More than half of those race wins were achieved in the premier class, leading to a unique run of 17 consecutive 500cc riders’ world titles; a record unthreatened even by Honda.