Post by floog on Apr 2, 2006 8:12:58 GMT
I have many biking heroes, and for different reasons, not necessarily just because they were the 'best', or most prolific in race win terms. However, One man, for me, who WAS prolific and one of the best of his generation, and who helped shape motorcycle racing was the legendary Italian, GIACOMO AGOSTINI.
With film star looks, and no shortage of determination and skill, Giacomo (pronounced Jack omo), Agostini secured no less than 15 world titles, 18 Italian championships, 122 race wins and 12 IOM TT victories, where a section of the track from the bottom of Bray hill to Quarter Bridge is named after his tyre lifting antics. He was apparently one of the first riders on film to be seen lifting his front wheel on a regular basis).
Born on July 16th 1942 in Brescia, Northern Italy, and brought up in Lovere (a lakeside town near Bergamo), Agostini was destined to follow his father's wishes for him to become a lawyer. Legend goes that the young Agostini started motorcycle racing only through a mix up when his father and accountant agreed believing the boy meant 'cycling'!!
There is also a link to the great Eddie Lawson, with Agostini filling the managerial post at the Yamaha Marlboro team in 1982 and Lawson's subsequent title wins. Luca Cadalora and Alex Criville also rode for Agostini. Later still, the friendship with Lawson was renewed as Agostini became manager of the Cagiva team in the early nineties where Lawson saw out his GP career.
Agostini raced against the likes of Phil read and Mike 'The bike' Hailwood, and was linked twice to MV Agusta, Morini, Yamaha, Cagiva. He even had a stint on four wheels in the F2/F-Aurora single seater's (though he admittedly joined too late to be in the running), and handed Yamaha their first ever Daytona 200 win in 1974.
Since childhood, I have seen plenty of grainy old footage of his races, and can't help but admire Agostini as possibly the greatest rider in history. My father (then a biker before a crash on a London bridge with my mum on pillion, ended his biking days), always sited Agostini as 'The man'. I grew up using Agostini as a benchmark comparison for all other racers. Agostini was a gentleman away from the track, a ladies man and adored by his fans wherever he went. He was a pin up, role model and true ambassador and earned my respect from the days when I dreampt about riding bikes, through my adolescent days of hiding copies of 'Superbike' under my bed (nothing to do with the naked female centre spreads you understand), to this day.
1963 ITALIAN 175cc SPORTS MACHINE CHAMPION
1964 ITALIAN 250cc CHAMPION
1966 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1967 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1968 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1968 350CC WORLD CHAMPION
1969 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1969 350CC WORLD CHAMPION
1970 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1970 350CC WORLD CHAMPION
1971 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1971 350CC WORLD CHAMPION
1972 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1972 350CC WORLD CHAMPION
1973 350CC WORLD CHAMPION
1974 350CC WORLD CHAMPION
1974 DAYTONA 200 WINNER
1975 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1999 INDUCTED INTO THE MOTORCYCLE HALL OF FAME
12 IOM TT WINNER
18 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER
***** A point worthy of note....There is a lot of anti-Agostini feeling around with regards his career in terms of the fact that for a lot of it he rode a full factory bike sometimes of higher engine capacity than the many privateers around him(allowed under the rules then). A lot of people feel that in simply turning up for the races, he would garantee a win in both classes.
There are always the 'what if's' as well. JARNO SAARINEN was a young genius who, many believe would have wiped the floor race after race with hailwood and Agostini, and gone on to blitz the seventies titles. Sadly he was killed at Monza in 1973 by oil on the track which also claimed the life of Renzo Pasolini and left marshals facing charges of negligence. Many also site Hailwood as a far greater rider.
Just my opinion, but AGO is a hero to me for his achievements and also the impact and way he affected me as a small child. The glint in my dad's eyes when he, as an ex-biker, mentioned AGO, is a powerful end evocative memory.
So, not wishing to offend any fellow racing fans in my choice, nor start a debate, simply a personal observation on a great rider who has something to do with my ever taking to two wheels.
With film star looks, and no shortage of determination and skill, Giacomo (pronounced Jack omo), Agostini secured no less than 15 world titles, 18 Italian championships, 122 race wins and 12 IOM TT victories, where a section of the track from the bottom of Bray hill to Quarter Bridge is named after his tyre lifting antics. He was apparently one of the first riders on film to be seen lifting his front wheel on a regular basis).
Born on July 16th 1942 in Brescia, Northern Italy, and brought up in Lovere (a lakeside town near Bergamo), Agostini was destined to follow his father's wishes for him to become a lawyer. Legend goes that the young Agostini started motorcycle racing only through a mix up when his father and accountant agreed believing the boy meant 'cycling'!!
There is also a link to the great Eddie Lawson, with Agostini filling the managerial post at the Yamaha Marlboro team in 1982 and Lawson's subsequent title wins. Luca Cadalora and Alex Criville also rode for Agostini. Later still, the friendship with Lawson was renewed as Agostini became manager of the Cagiva team in the early nineties where Lawson saw out his GP career.
Agostini raced against the likes of Phil read and Mike 'The bike' Hailwood, and was linked twice to MV Agusta, Morini, Yamaha, Cagiva. He even had a stint on four wheels in the F2/F-Aurora single seater's (though he admittedly joined too late to be in the running), and handed Yamaha their first ever Daytona 200 win in 1974.
Since childhood, I have seen plenty of grainy old footage of his races, and can't help but admire Agostini as possibly the greatest rider in history. My father (then a biker before a crash on a London bridge with my mum on pillion, ended his biking days), always sited Agostini as 'The man'. I grew up using Agostini as a benchmark comparison for all other racers. Agostini was a gentleman away from the track, a ladies man and adored by his fans wherever he went. He was a pin up, role model and true ambassador and earned my respect from the days when I dreampt about riding bikes, through my adolescent days of hiding copies of 'Superbike' under my bed (nothing to do with the naked female centre spreads you understand), to this day.
1963 ITALIAN 175cc SPORTS MACHINE CHAMPION
1964 ITALIAN 250cc CHAMPION
1966 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1967 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1968 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1968 350CC WORLD CHAMPION
1969 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1969 350CC WORLD CHAMPION
1970 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1970 350CC WORLD CHAMPION
1971 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1971 350CC WORLD CHAMPION
1972 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1972 350CC WORLD CHAMPION
1973 350CC WORLD CHAMPION
1974 350CC WORLD CHAMPION
1974 DAYTONA 200 WINNER
1975 500CC WORLD CHAMPION
1999 INDUCTED INTO THE MOTORCYCLE HALL OF FAME
12 IOM TT WINNER
18 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER
***** A point worthy of note....There is a lot of anti-Agostini feeling around with regards his career in terms of the fact that for a lot of it he rode a full factory bike sometimes of higher engine capacity than the many privateers around him(allowed under the rules then). A lot of people feel that in simply turning up for the races, he would garantee a win in both classes.
There are always the 'what if's' as well. JARNO SAARINEN was a young genius who, many believe would have wiped the floor race after race with hailwood and Agostini, and gone on to blitz the seventies titles. Sadly he was killed at Monza in 1973 by oil on the track which also claimed the life of Renzo Pasolini and left marshals facing charges of negligence. Many also site Hailwood as a far greater rider.
Just my opinion, but AGO is a hero to me for his achievements and also the impact and way he affected me as a small child. The glint in my dad's eyes when he, as an ex-biker, mentioned AGO, is a powerful end evocative memory.
So, not wishing to offend any fellow racing fans in my choice, nor start a debate, simply a personal observation on a great rider who has something to do with my ever taking to two wheels.