The MV Agusta 350 cc racers were motorcycles produced by
MV Agusta
MV Agusta (, full name: MV AGUSTA Motor S.p.A., original name: Meccanica Verghera Agusta or MV) is a motorcycle manufacturer founded by Count Domenico Agusta on 19 January 1945 as one of the branches of the Agusta aircraft company near Milan in ...
between 1954 and 1976 and raced in the 350 cc
motorcycle GP championships. 10 world titles were achieved by riders
John Surtees
John Surtees, (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with ...
,
Gary Hocking
Gary Stuart Hocking MBE (30 September 1937 – 21 December 1962) was a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world champion who competed in the late 1950s and early 1960s based in Rhodesia.
Early life
Hocking was born in Caerleon, near Newport, ...
and
Giacomo Agostini
Giacomo Agostini (; born 16 June 1942) is an Italian multi-time world champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Nicknamed Ago, he amassed 122 Grand Prix wins and 15 World Championship titles. Of these, 68 wins and 8 titles came in the 500  ...
on these machines.
MV Agusta 350 4C 1954–1964
Count Domenico Agusta never released technical data of his machines and personnel, technical staff and riders were forbidden to divulge anything about the machines. Because a number of newer machines were later sold through auctions, data is known about these, but the machines from the early years sometimes remain a mystery. Of the original 350 4C is really only known that it was a reduced version of the MV Agusta 500 4C. Designer
Piero Remor
Piero Remor (Porto Venere, Italy, 1896 - Rome, 1964) was an Italian engineer and motorcycle constructor, best known for his work for the Gilera and MV Agusta brands.
MAS boot
Piero Remor studied at the Sapienza University of Rome, with, among oth ...
initially provided that machine with experimental and often useless technology, but rider
Leslie Graham
Robert Leslie Graham (14 September 1911 – 12 June 1953) was a British motorcycle road racer who competed in the 1930s and 1940s. He won the inaugural Grand Prix motorcycle racing 500 cc World Championship in 1949.
Early Career (1929 ...
made some improvements. In 1953 that machine had a
telescopic fork
A telescopic fork is a form of motorcycle front suspension whose use is so common that it is virtually universal. The telescopic fork uses fork tubes and sliders which contain the springs and dampers.
The main advantages of the telescopic fork ...
s and a
double cradle frame. It had a
Four-stroke
A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...
transverse
Transverse may refer to:
*Transverse engine, an engine in which the crankshaft is oriented side-to-side relative to the wheels of the vehicle
*Transverse flute, a flute that is held horizontally
* Transverse force (or ''Euler force''), the tangen ...
in-line four-cylinder engine with
DOHC
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...
with two
valves
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...
per
cylinder
A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...
.
Technical data MV Agusta 350 4C 1954–1964
Results 1954–1964
;1954
Bill Lomas
Bill Lomas (8 March 1928 – 14 August 2007) was an English Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle road racing, road racer. He was a two-time List of Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champions by year, World Champion and a two-ti ...
and
Dickie Dale
Richard H. Dale (25 April 1927 – 30 April 1961), known as Dickie Dale, was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer born in Wyberton near Boston, Lincolnshire, England. In 1945 he was drafted into the RAF and served as a flight mechanic, and bou ...
received MV Agustas for the 500 cc Senior TT on the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
, but also started with the 350 cc version in the Junior TT. It was not a success: Lomas was only 7th and Dale was 25th. For the time being, MV Agusta still had to bow to the
AJS 7R
The AJS 7R was a British 350 cc racing motorcycle built from 1948 to 1963 by Associated Motor Cycles.
It was also commonly known as the ‘Boy Racer’, and won victories both for the factory and for privateers right from its introduction i ...
and the
Norton Manx
The Norton Manx or Manx Norton is a British racing motorcycle that was made from 1947 to 1962 by Norton Motors Ltd. Norton had contested every Isle of Man TT race from the inaugural 1907 event through into the 1970s, a feat unrivalled by any ...
.
;1955
In
1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
* January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
* January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
the 350 cc MV Agustas did not start in GPs, possibly because they were concentrating on the 250 cc class.
;1956
When John Surtees came to MV Agusta in 1956, he brought his knowledge of the
Norton Norton may refer to:
Places
Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada
*Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan
*Norton Parish, New Brunswick
**Norton, New Brunswick, a ...
Featherbed frame
The featherbed frame was a motorcycle frame invented by the McCandless brothers and offered to the British Norton motorcycle company to improve the performance of their racing motorcycles in 1950. It was considered revolutionary at the time,"'' ...
with him. The improvements to the 500 cc MV Agusta were also applied to the 350 cc four-cylinder. Surtees finished second in the 350 cc
TT in Assen and won the
Grand Prix of Belgium, but after a nasty fall in the
Grand Prix of Germany, breaking an arm, he was eliminated for the rest of the season.
Umberto Masetti
Umberto Masetti (4 May 1926 - 28 May 2006) was an Italian two-time World Champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. In 1950, he became the first Italian to win the 500cc World Championship.
Career
Masetti was born in Borgo delle Rose, in the ...
rode a send MV in the Belgian and
Nations Grand Prix
The Italian motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that is part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. From 1949 to 1990 the event was known by the it, Gran Premio Delle Nazioni (''Nations Grand Prix''). It was one of the original ...
at
Monza
Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...
.
Carlo Bandirola
Carlo Bandirola (25 September 1915 – 21 September 1981) was an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He had his best years in 1950 then again in 1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president o ...
also raced an MV at Monza. Surtees finished fourth in the
350 cc world championship.
;1957
Surtees drove the MV Agusta 350 four-cylinder in almost all the 1957 GPs, but the machine was hopelessly unreliable. He finished fourth in the
Junior TT
The Junior TT is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival; an annual event at the end of May and beginning of June. Between 1949 and 1976 this race was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.
Engine c ...
, but dropped out in five other GPs. He finished 10th in the
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
.
;1958
At the end of 1957, the Italian brands
Gilera
Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera (1887–1971). In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio.
History
In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine. It was, at ...
,
FB Mondial,
Moto Guzzi
Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production.
Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcycling ma ...
and MV Agusta announced that they would stop road racing. Racing was simply too expensive, especially for the companies that had to live off motorcycle sales. For Count Domenico Agusta however, the situation was different. He earned his money by building
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
s and motorcycles were just a hobby. With the loss of the biggest competitors (the British brands had stopped earlier), the fortunes for MV Agusta turned. The development of new prototypes was stopped, because it was clear that the four-cylinder MV Agusta would now be strong enough for the world title. That turned out to be the case in 1958: the brand won all the world titles in the solo classes, including the manufacturer's titles. Surtees won all six 350 cc races he started in, and won the
championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
.
John Hartle
John Hartle (22 December 1933 - 31 August 1968) was an English professional road racer who competed in national, international and Grand Prix motorcycle events.
Motorcycling career
Born in Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, Hartle began racing ...
was runner-up in the world championship as MV's second rider.
;1959
In 1959 John Surtees won all six of the GPs and the
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
. Again his teammate John Hartle was runner-up in the world championship.
;1960
The
1960 season was exciting due to the battle between the two teammates from MV Agusta, John Surtees and Gary Hocking. Both riders finished with 22 points. They both had two wins and one second place. Surtees had also achieved third place, which made Surtees world champion. At the end of the season John Surtees left to pursue a
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
career.
;1961
In 1961, Gary Hocking was the sole rider for MV Agusta in the 350 cc class. He skipped the first race (
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
) but then started collecting points. He was second in the
Junior TT
The Junior TT is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival; an annual event at the end of May and beginning of June. Between 1949 and 1976 this race was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.
Engine c ...
, and this was followed by victories in the Netherlands, the GDR,
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
and Italy. He missed the last Grand Prix in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, as his world title was already won by then.
;1962
In 1961
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
had not competed in the 350 cc class, but for the
1962 season the
Honda RC 162 was bored out to 284.5 cc and designated RC 170.
Bob McIntyre and
Tom Phillis
Thomas Edward Phillis (9 April 1934 – 6 June 1962) was an Australian professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He won the 1961 125cc motorcycle road racing World Championship and was the first person to lap the Isle of Man TT mountain ...
rode the machine in the Junior TT. Phillis crashed during that race and McIntyre retired.
Mike Hailwood
Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, (2 April 1940 – 23 March 1981) was a British professional motorcycle racer and racing driver. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle ...
won the race with the MV Agusta. He was second in the TT of Assen and the Grand Prix of the GDR, but the Hondas won all the races and
Jim Redman
James Albert Redman, (born 8 November 1931) is a British-born Zimbabwean former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1959 to 1966. Redman is notable for being a six-time Grand Prix road racing world c ...
(Honda) became world champion ahead of
Tommy Robb (Honda) and Mike Hailwood (MV Agusta).
;1963
Honda took a step back in
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
and no new models were introduced. After the Ulster GP the mechanics were called back to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Hailwood then won in the GDR and in Finland, but by then the world title was already decided in favour of Jim Redman and Honda.
;1964
In
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
, MV Agusta focused primarily on the 500 cc class, where there was still no significant opposition. In the 350 cc class, Hailwood only started in Assen where he finished second.
MV Agusta 350 3C 1965–1973
In 1965 the new three-cylinder MV Agusta appeared. Count Agusta had wanted a 350 cc three-cylinder because he was impressed by the three-cylinder two-stroke
DKW
DKW (''Dampf-Kraft-Wagen'', en, "steam-powered car", also ''Deutsche Kinder-Wagen'' en, "German children's car". ''Das-Kleine-Wunder'', en, "the little wonder" or ''Des-Knaben-Wunsch'', en, "the boy's wish"- from when the company built to ...
RM 350.
Arturo Magni
Arturo Magni (Usmate Velate, 24 September 1925 - Samarate, 2 December 2015) was an Italian engineer racing team manager and entrepreneur.
Early life
Arturo Magni was born in Usmate Velate, near Milan in the Lombardy region of Italy on 24 Septem ...
and designer Mario Rossi tried to dissuade him, but the count insisted. He even suggested adding an extra cylinder to the
MV Agusta 250 Bicilindrica
The MV Agusta 250 Bicilindrica was a 250 cc factory racing motorcycle manufactured by the Italian brand MV Agusta from 1957 to 1961. With this machine 11 GPs, 2 Driver Championships and 2 manufacturers World Championships were won.
History
MV Ag ...
. When the three-cylinder engine seemed ready, Count Agusta was displeased because there were only two valves per cylinder. Within a week the technicians converted the engine to
four valves per cylinder and that immediately yielded an extra 6 horsepower. In 1966 a version with the engine enlarged to 420 cc was produced for the 500 cc class.
Technical data MV Agusta 350 3C
Results 1965–1973
;1965
In
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
MV Agusta used the new 350 three-cylinder engine, but reliability was a problem. MV had two top drivers: Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini, who took points off each other, while Honda put everything on Jim Redman. In the first 350 cc race of 1965 at the
Nürburgring
The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...
, Agostini won ahead of his teammate Hailwood and
Gustav Havel on a
Jawa, while Redman (Honda) crashed in the rain and broke his
collarbone
The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the right ...
.
During the
Junior TT
The Junior TT is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival; an annual event at the end of May and beginning of June. Between 1949 and 1976 this race was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.
Engine c ...
, Redman was out for his third win in a row, but Hailwood led by 20 seconds after the opening round with the new MV three-cylinder. He then made a long pit stop, allowing Redman to take the lead. The MV Agusta of Hailwood stopped at
Sarah's Cottage on the fourth lap, giving Redman the win.
Phil Read
Phillip William Read, (1 January 1939 – 6 October 2022) was an English professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1961 to 1976. Read is notable for being the first competitor to win world championships ...
was second with the 250 cc
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
and Agostini took third place after
Derek Woodman
Derek Woodman was a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best season was in when he rode an MZ to finish the year in third place in the 125cc world championship, behind Hugh Anderson and Frank Perris. In 1964, he teamed with ...
with the
MZ had dropped out on the final lap.
In Assen, Redman won again, with Hailwood in second and Agostini in third. In East Germany, both Hailwood and Agostini dropped out. Redman won the race, Woodman (MZ) came in second and Havel came in third (Jawa). In
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, both MV Agustas dropped out again. Redman won again from Woodman. After two races without points, MV Agusta didn't enter the 350 cc race at the Ulster Grand Prix. In retrospect, this turned out to have been a major mistake as Honda did not enter either. MV Agusta didn't intend on travelling to the Finnish Grand Prix, but when Redman broke his collarbone again in Ulster,
MV seized the advantage and took part. Agostini won the 350 cc race ahead of Honda's second man
Bruce Beale. Honda blundered by letting Redman know that there would be no motorcycles at Monza, so he stayed in his native
Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
. In the end it turned out that a 350 cc Honda was ready for Redman in Monza, but it remained on the sidelines.
Agostini won the race, which started dry. It rained in the final laps, causing Hailwood to fall. Just like in the 125cc class, two drivers were on 32 points before the start of the 350 cc race in
Suzuka: Jim Redman and Giacomo Agostini. An exciting race for the world title was expected, but Agostini's engine started running poorly due to a broken
Contact breaker
A contact breaker (or "points") is a type of electrical switch, found in the ignition systems of spark-ignition internal combustion engines. The switch is automatically operated by a cam driven by the engine. The timing of operation of the switch ...
spring.
Hailwood took the lead and Redman was content to follow having been stung above his eye by a bee just before the start and his eye was almost closed.
Second place was enough for Redman to win the world title.
;1966
Mike Hailwood switched to Honda for
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
.
At the season open race in the 350 cc class, the German Grand Prix at
Hockenheimring
The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg () is a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it has hos ...
, Giacomo Agostini retired and Mike Hailwood won on the Honda RC 173. In France, Hailwood won again, with Agostini 20 seconds behind. At Assen, Hailwood set a new lap record in practice, a full second faster than his own record lap from 1965 that he had set on a 500 cc MV Agusta. In the race, in conditions of rain and wind, Hailwood won with Agostini 45.2 seconds behind. In the GDR, Hailwood was entered in the 250, 350 and 500 cc classes. This would have involved riding more than 500 km in one day, which was not allowed. Hailwood had to replace the Jim Redman in the 500 cc class and, because he had won all the previous races in the 350 cc class, he dropped this class. Agostini won the race comfortably without the opposition from Honda.
A close battle between Hailwood and Agostini took place in Czechoslovakia, with Hailwood eventually coming out on top. The 350 cc race in
Imatra
Imatra is a town and municipality in southeastern Finland. Imatra is dominated by Lake Saimaa, the Vuoksi River and the border with Russia. On the other side of the border, away from the centre of Imatra, lies the Russian town of Svetogorsk. ...
, Finland, was won by Hailwood, while Agostini dropped out. The 350 cc Ulster Grand Prix started in the rain and Hailwood won comfortably. With this victory, Hailwood had secured his seventh world title. The Hailwood Honda did not go well during the
Junior TT
The Junior TT is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival; an annual event at the end of May and beginning of June. Between 1949 and 1976 this race was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.
Engine c ...
. At
Ballacraine
__NOTOC__
Ballacraine (, "McCrayne" or "Craine's farm"; archaic ) is located between the 7th and 8th milestones of the TT course, at the junction of the A1 Douglas to Peel and A3 Castletown to Ramsey primary roads in the parish of German in t ...
, 13 km into the race, he was overtaken by Agostini who started 20 seconds after him. Agostini won the race. At Monza, Hailwood didn't start and Agostini won his 3rd victory of the season.
;1967
Only MV Agusta and Benelli brought full 350 cc machines into the
1967 season. Honda used the
RC 174, a 250 cc
six-cylinder
The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balan ...
bored to 297 cc.
Hailwood won the German 350 cc Grand Prix with Giacomo Agostini almost a minute behind on his MV Agusta. After the first lap of the
Junior TT
The Junior TT is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival; an annual event at the end of May and beginning of June. Between 1949 and 1976 this race was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.
Engine c ...
, Hailwood had 48 seconds over Agostini, and by the end of the race more than three minutes lead. Hailwood won again in Assen, at the
Sachsenring
The Sachsenring () is a motorsport racing circuit located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal near Chemnitz in Saxony, Germany. Among other events, it features the annual German motorcycle Grand Prix of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship ...
and at
Brno
Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
securing the world title. In Ulster, Hailwood concentrated on the classes in which he was not yet a world champion, the 250 and 500 cc, and
Ralph Bryans
Ralph Bryans (7 March 1941 – 6 August 2014) was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Northern Ireland. Bryans was Ireland's only Grand Prix world champion, winning the 50 cc title in 1965.
Racing career
Bryans started road-riding on a ...
rode his six-cylinder Honda. Bryans led for five laps, but was passed by Agostini, who quickly established a lead. Now that the title had been decided in favour of Honda, the 350 cc race at Monza was more for the Italian honour for Agostini and
Renzo Pasolini
Renzo Pasolini (18 July 1938 – 20 May 1973), nicknamed "Paso", was an Italian professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1964 to 1972.
Although he never won a world cham ...
(Benelli). They fought a hard fight, but for second place as Ralph Bryans was already way out in front on the Honda. Agostini did not start in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
;1968
Honda withdrew from racing after the 1967 season
and again, as in 1958, MV Agusta had little opposition in the
1968 season. Honda had paid Hailwood £50,000 not to ride for another team.
Renzo Pasolini on the Benelli was the nearest competitor, but Agostini won all seven Grands Prix, sometimes lapping the whole field.
;1969
In
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
Yamaha had its
TR 2 ready, but the machine did not pose a threat to Agostini with his MV Agusta.
Bill Ivy
William David Ivy (27 August 1942 – 12 July 1969) was an English professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Maidstone, Kent. He died during practice for a race in East Germany.
The Early Years
Ivy started racing motorbikes at Brands Hat ...
started the new Jawa 350 cc
V4. The Jawa was fast, but less reliable and Ivy crashed and was killed during practice for the DDR.
Agostini won the first eight races, but because Count Agusta did not agree with the move of the GP des Nations to
Imola
Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical re ...
, he did not ride there. This allowed Phil Read to win on the Yamaha.
[Phil Read career statistics at MotoGP.com](_blank)
/ref> In Opatija
Opatija (; it, Abbazia; german: Sankt Jakobi) is a town and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in western Croatia. The traditional seaside resort on the Kvarner Gulf is known for its Mediterranean climate and its historic buildings r ...
, Agostini didn't start and Silvio Grassetti
Silvio Grassetti (24 February 1936 – 9 September 2018) was an Italian professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.
Motorcycle racing career
Grassetti was born in Montecchio, Sant'Angelo in Lizzola. The son of a Benelli employee, he began hi ...
won on the Jawa V4.
;1970
MV Agusta was dominant in the 1970 season. Agostini won all races in the 350 and 500 cc classes except the last race in Spain. His new teammate Angelo Bergamonti
Angelo Bergamonti (18 March 1939 - 4 April 1971) was an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle road racing, road racer.
Bergamonti was born in Gussola. His best year was in 1970 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, 1970 when ...
won both classes there.
;1971
The 1971 season started sadly for MV Agusta, when Angelo Bergamonti was killed in a crash during the spring race in Riccione
Riccione (; rgn, Arciôn ) is a ''comune'' in the Province of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. As of 2018, Riccione had an estimated population of 35,003.
History
The oldest archaeological findings in Riccione's area date to the 2nd cen ...
. Agostini won in Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, Germany, the Netherlands, the GDR, Finland and Sweden. His machine suffered breakdowns at the Isle of Man TT
The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...
, Czechoslovakia and in Italy (where Alberto Pagani
Alberto Pagani (29 August 1938 – 11 September 2017) was an Italian professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best year was in 1972 when he finished second in the 500cc world championship, behind his MV Agusta teammate, Giacomo Agost ...
rode the machines that had been intended for Angelo Bergamonti). Agostini did not compete at Ulster and Spain, but his six wins gave him the championship. Yamaha were beginning to mount a strong challenge in the form of Jarno Saarinen
Jarno Karl Keimo Saarinen (11 December 1945 – 20 May 1973) was a Finnish professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. In the early 1970s, he was considered one of the most promising and talented motorcycle racers of his era until he was kill ...
in the new Yamaha TR3. His first 350 cc Grand Prix was in Czechoslovakia after Agostini's motorcycle had a mechanical failure. He then finished second to Agostini in the Finnish Grand Prix before winning the Nations Grand Prix in Italy. Saarinen finished second to Agostini in the 350 cc Championship.
MV Agusta 350 4C 1972–1976
With the two-stroke Yamahas rapidly challenging MV Agusta's dominance, more power was needed from the engine. The three cylinder engine was at the limit of its development, so leading engineer Ruggero Mazza designed an ultra-short-stroke (54 x 38mm) inline-four that safely revved to 16,500 rpm. To offset the weight of the complex engine compared to the simpler Yamaha twins, the cycle parts were made as light as possible. The frame, designed by Arturo Magni was made of titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
. Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
forks were sourced from Ceriani
Ceriani, formerly Arces, was an Italian company that designed and fabricated motorcycle frames and suspensions. The company was founded by Arturo Ceriani in 1951. Arces is an acronym derived from Arturo Ceriani S.r.l.
In the European motorcycl ...
and magnesium cast wheels from Morris. Disc brake
A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...
s were used front and rear.
Technical data MV Agusta 350 4C 1972–1976
Results 1972–1976
;1972
The 1972 season did not start well for MV Agusta. In the opening race Germany, Agostini was defeated by Saarinen in a direct head-to-head. With his new water-cooled Yamaha YZ 634, Saarinen set a new absolute lap record. In France, the difference in weight between the water-cooled Yamaha YZ 634 (approx. 90 kilos) and the MV Agusta 350 3C (approx. 140 kilos). Saarinen won and Teuvo Länsivuori
Teuvo Pentti "Tepi" Länsivuori (born 9 December 1945) is a Finnish former professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the Grand Prix world championships from 1969 to 1978.
His most successful seasons were in 1973 when he finished in sec ...
on an air-cooled Yamaha TR 3 finished second, 1½ minutes behind Saarinen. Renzo Pasolini on the Aermacchi-Harley-Davidson was third and Agostini forth. He took his loss, however, sportingly, but stated that the three-cylinder MV Agusta had become too slow.
After two wins for Yamaha, Agostini came to Austria with the new MV Agusta 350 4C. In the race, the Saarinen's engine lost some power, leaving him in fourth place. Agostini won the race. MV Agusta hired Phil Read to support Agostini in Imola. Agostini won the race, but the star of the race for the Italian home crowd was Renzo Pasolini on the Aermacchi-Harley-Davidson. Pasolini had a bad start and was tenth after the first lap, but fought through the field to finish second. Read finished fourth. In the Junior TT
The Junior TT is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival; an annual event at the end of May and beginning of June. Between 1949 and 1976 this race was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.
Engine c ...
, where Saarinen refused to ride due to the risks, Agostini led from start to finish, while his team-mate Phil Read dropped out on the second lap with shift problems. Both MV drivers rode the three-cylinder machines.
Agostini dropped out in the Yugoslavia GP. Phil Read finished the race, but could not keep up with the Yamaha TR 3 of the Hungarian János Drapál
János Drapál (3 February 1948 – 11 August 1985) was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Budapest. He had little chance to race in the Grand Prix world championships during the Cold War, but still won four Grand Prix races. Drapál had ...
.[János Drapál career statistics at MotoGP.com](_blank)
/ref> Read finished third. In Assen, Agostini won after a fight with Drapál, Pasolini and Read. (Agostini was on the four-cylinder, Read on the three-cylinder). Agostini dropped out in the GDR, but Phil Read now also had a four-cylinder MV Agusta at his disposal and won, setting a new lap record. His time was the same as that of Agostini in the 500 cc race.
In Brno, Agostini fell, leaving Read in the lead. Saarinen passed Read to win the race. In Anderstorp
Anderstorp () is a locality situated in Gislaved Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 4,965 inhabitants in 2010.
Scandinavian Raceway, which hosted the Swedish Grand Prix Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is ...
, Agostini and Read fought hard in the first laps against Jarno Saarinen. Agostini took the lead and retained it throughout the race. Agostini's sixth win in Finland gave him the 1972 world title, with Saarinen in second place.
;1973
For 1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
, Phil Read was given contract with MV Agusta, but as No 2 rider to Agostini. Yamaha withdrew from the 350 cc class, concentrating on the 250 and 500 cc classes with Jarno Saarinen and Hideo Kanaya
was a Japanese professional motorcycle racer and motorcycle racing team manager. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world championships from 1967 to 1975. He dominated Japanese road racing in the early 1970s and was the first J ...
, but when Saarinen died in Monza, the factory team was withdrawn. Some privateers contested the 350 cc class with Yamaha TZ 350s. Due to the poor reliability of the MV Agusta 350 4C, even in 1973, the team sometimes rode the "old" three-cylinder.
Agostini led the opening race in France race from start to finish Phil Read came second. Although it had been sunny in Austria during practice, race day was wet. Phil Read retired because of a problem with his visor. Agostini built up a large lead over János Drapál, but on the penultimate lap the MV Agusta stopped due to water in the ignition, giving the victory to Drapál. In Germany, the Harley-Davidson factory team was missing, working hard on getting water-cooled machines ready. In the practice sessions private driver John Dodds (Yamaha TZ 350) was fastest. In the race Read fell on the fifth lap and on the eleventh lap the same happened to Agostini whilst he was in the lead. Teuvo Länsivuori won the race.
The 350 cc race in Monza was initially quite exciting. The Harley-Davidson team had skipped the German GP to work on the new water-cooled machines and that paid off: Pasolini was less than a second slower than Agostini in practice. The race was initially led by Agostini and Read, but Read went into the pit with a bad running engine and Agostini won. Read, Agostini and Länsivuoridid not race in Yugoslavia, where János Drapál won. The 350 cc race in Assen led to a great fight between Agostini, Read and Länsivuori, until the latter had problems with his gearbox and had to quit. Agostini won with a 0.1 second lead over Read and Länsivuori was still third. Länsivuori won the 350 cc GP of Czechoslovakia with a big lead over Agostini and Read and also in Sweden, Länsivuori won, while Agostini came in second and Phil Read third. In Imatra, Agostini used the four-cylinder again. Teuvo Länsivuori had to win this race to still have a chance of winning the world title, but he was expertly kept in third place by Phil Read, who thus allowed Agostini to stay on top. In the end Länsivuori fell on the 9th lap and so Agostini was able to grab first place and the 350 cc world title.
;1974
Giacomo Agostini left for the Yamaha team at the end of 1973 and Phil Read became No 1 at MV Agusta. He was supported by Franco Bonera
Gianfranco Bonera (born 2 April 1945 in Porpetto, Province of Udine) is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best year was in 1974 when he won the Nations Grand Prix and finished second to his MV Agusta teammate, Phil Read, in ...
, but only in the 500 cc class. MV Agusta started the first three races in the 350 cc class, but withdrew from the fourth race, the GP des Nations. The MV Agusta 350 4C was considered uncompetitive and a new machine that was under development was by no means ready. Read did not finish in any race and MV Agusta remained without points in the 350 cc class.
;1975
In 1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
the MV Agusta 350 cc racers were not entered.
;1976
For the 1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
opening race in France, Agostini had a 350 cc Yamaha hastily brought from Amsterdam. The MV had failed the new noise limit of dB(A)
A-weighting is the most commonly used of a family of curves defined in the International standard IEC 61672:2003 and various national standards relating to the measurement of sound pressure level. A-weighting is applied to instrument-measured s ...
(the MV was measured at 132 dB(A)). The FIM
FIM may refer to:
Organizations and companies
* Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation
* Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States
* Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media
* ...
admitted, however, that this new rule had been announced too late, giving the MV Agusta a little respite. The machine almost never reached the finish. In France a stone hit the distributor cap
A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plu ...
, in Austria the clutch slipped, in Italy, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Germany, Ago stopped for unknown reasons and in Finland the ignition broke down. The organisation had even done everything there to get the MV Agusta through the noise inspection. A false statement of the team's bore / stroke ratio was then accepted, while it was still fairly well-known: 54 x 38 mm. As a result, the measurement was carried out at a specific corrected piston speed at 7,000 rpm, while that should have been 10,000 rpm. The measurement was 113 dB(A) and MV Agusta claimed a power loss of 3 hp. The only time the MV scored points that season was Agostini's win in Assen. At the end of the season, MV Agusta announced it would stop road racing.
Prototypes
In 1957, MV Agusta developed two prototypes for the 350 cc class, a six-cylinder
The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balan ...
and a two-cylinder. Nello Pagani rode the six-cylinder unsuccessfully in the last race of 1957, the GP des Nations at Monza. The two-cylinder was never raced.
MV Agusta 350 6C 1957
The six-cylinder in- line engine was a logical development because MV Agusta built a 500 cc version in response to the Moto Guzzi Otto Cilindri. The machine provided enough power, but this did not outweigh the extra weight. The machine had a six-cylinder in-line engine with only two valves per cylinder. The air-cooled six-cylinder engine still had double overhead camshafts and a double cradle frame, the lower tubes of which could be detached for easy removal of the engine block.
MV Agusta 350 2C 1957
A completely different techniques were used with the 350 cc two-cylinder, especially with regard to the frame. This machine had a trellis frame that consisted of triangular constructions of thin tubes, and where the engine was a structural part. The cylinders leaned sharply forward and the machine used the old-fashioned Earles front fork again, probably because using the same thin tubes it was lighter than a telescopic fork. By applying two external flywheels, the engine block could be made compact and strong. The engine also had a dry-sump system and delivered around 47 hp at 12,000 rpm.
MV Agusta 350 6C 1968
In 1968 they wanted to continue developing the six-cylinder engine, but the FIM ruled that from now on the 350 and 500 cc racers should not have more than four cylinders. A prototype was built, this time with four valves per cylinder, but that could not be used in the world championship. Sometimes the drivers did practice on it: in 1971 both Giacomo Agostini and Angelo Bergamonti did that in the spring race in Modena.
Technical data MV Agusta prototypes
References
Bibliography
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{{MV Agusta
350 racers
Grand Prix motorcycles
Motorcycles introduced in 1954