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Giacomo Agostini Italian motorcycling legend
Giacomo Agostini's career can be summed up in a few bald stastitics: fifteen world titles, not one serious fall in a seventeen year career. The first real mega star in the story of the sport. Ago & leads Barry Sheene at the Dutch TT. Born in Brescia on the 16th. June 1942 but brought up in Lovere ( near Bergamo ), Agostini cut his teeth on hill climb events aboard a Morini 175 Settebello. Morini subsequently offered him a place in their works team and having replaced Provini in '64, he began to attract a good deal of general attention. MV soon spotted this rising star and they gave him a World Championship ride as under study to Mike Hailwood, from whom Agostini swore he learned a great deal. A compliment indeed for Agostini was not a man given to easy compliments. Ago & team-mate Angelo Bergamonti The new boy did extremely well on the massive fours of the early days, but "his" bike - arguably the machine made for him - was the the 350cc three cylinder which he was to ride to a splendid victory at the Nurburgring on its very first outing in 1965. This was followed shortly afterwards by the 500cc three and "Ago" was thus provided with the machines with which he was to carve out his own legend. The Greatest Rider in history: Agostini After having narrowly missed his first World Championship success in '65, Agostini was left alone to defend the MV colours in the '66 season when Hailwood signed for Honda. With the 350 he was twice runner up to his ex team-mate 1n 1966 and 1967, but he got his own back with a vengeance in the 5000 class where both of these seasons were illuminated by a thrilling series of duels between the two rivals. With his old friend Arturo Magni. In both '66 and '67 the final result was in doubt until the last round of the season, the GP of Nations at Monza, and on both occasions the Italian champion carried the day. The MV 3 Cylinder. Made for Ago. Honda departed the scene at the end of the '67 season, the famous "easy years" began
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