Giacomo ”Ago” Agostini

Giacomo Agostini, född 16 juni 1942 i Brescia, Italien, anses vara en av världens allra största motorcykelförare genom tiderna, med sina inte mindre än 15 världsmästartitlar (8 titlar i 500c och 7 i 350cc), 12 Isle of Man-segrar och otroliga 122 grand prix-vinster. Dessutom vurpade han nästan aldrig under sina 17 år som toppförare.
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Han började tävla på hög nivå 1964 då han fick en plats i ett stall. Han presterade bra direkt och snart blev han erbjuden en plats i VM hos MV Agusta som andraförare under Mike Hailwood, som även fungerade som mentor åt Agostini. Året efter gick Hailwood till Honda. 1966 och 1967 kom han två i 350cc efter Hailwood, medan han vann i 500cc. När Honda lämnade scenen efter säsongen 1967 följdes det av åtta år med total dominans av Agostini och MV Agusta då han tog titlar i 350cc och 500cc samtidigt 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971 och 1972. 1973 tog han en titel i 350cc och med Yamaha vann han 350cc 1974 och 500cc 1975. Det enda riktiga hotet mot Agostinis dominans var en ung finländsk talang vid namn Jarno Saarinen som kom 1971 och vann ett par race men sedan dog i en tragisk krasch på Monza. Efter sin sista titel 1975 tog han ett par gp-segrar 1976, där han passande nog tog sin sista seger på Nürburgring där han även hade tagit sin första gp-seger 1966. Hans favoritlopp var resultatmässigt i Finland där han tog totalt 15 (!) segrar under karriären, vilket tillsammans med Ángel Nietos 15 segrar på Assen är rekord för ett enstaka Grand Prix. Efter sitt tillbakadragande blev han teamchef för Yamaha Grand Prix som tog hem ett par titlar under hans ledning.

Giacomo Agostini (born 16 June 1942) is an Italian multi-time world champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.[1] Nicknamed Ago, with an absolute record of 122 Grand Prix wins and 15 World Championships titles, he is claimed to be the greatest motorcycle rider of all time.[1] Of these, 68 wins and 8 titles came in the 500cc class, the rest in the 350cc class.
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Early career[edit]

Agostini was born in Brescia, Lombardy, although his family was from Lovere, where his father was employed in the local town council. The oldest of four brothers, Agostini initially had to steal away to compete, first in hill climb events and then in road racing, as his father did not approve of his son's motorcycle racing career and did everything he could to persuade him not to race.[1]
Eventually his father came to terms with his racing and he won the 1963 Italian 175cc championship aboard a Morini. He got his break when Morini factory rider, Tarquinio Provini left the team to ride for Benelli. Count Alfonso Morini hired the young Agostini to ride for him.[1] In 1964, Agostini would win the Italian 350cc title and proved his ability by finishing fourth in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.[2]
World championships[edit]

These results caught the eye of Count Domenico Agusta who signed Agostini to ride for his MV Agusta squad as Mike Hailwood's team-mate.[1] Agostini then fought a season-long battle with Honda's Jim Redman for the 1965 350cc world championship. He seemed to have the title won when he led the final round in Japan at Suzuka when his bike failed him, handing the title to Redman.
At the end of the 1965 season, Hailwood left to join Honda as he had tired of working for the difficult Count Agusta. With Agostini now the top MV Agusta rider, he responded by winning the 500cc title seven years in succession for the Italian factory.[1] He would also win the 350cc title seven times in succession and won 10 Isle of Man TTs. In 1967 he battled Hailwood in one of the most dramatic seasons in Grand Prix history. Each rider had 5 victories before the championship was decided in Agostini's favor at the last race of the season.

Practice in 1976 at the Nürburgring with the 350cc MV
Agostini dropped a bombshell on the Grand Prix world when he announced he would never again race at the Isle of Man TT, after the death of his close friend, Gilberto Parlotti during the 1972 TT. He considered the 37 mile circuit unsafe for world championship competition. At the time, the TT was the most prestigious race on the motorcycling calendar. Other top riders joined his boycott of the event and by 1977, the event was struck from the Grand Prix schedule.
Agostini surprised the racing world when he announced that he would leave MV Agusta to ride for Yamaha in 1974 season. On his first outing for the Japanese factory, he won the prestigious Daytona 200, the premiere American motorcycle race.[3] He went on to claim the 1974 350cc World Championship but injuries and mechanical problems kept him from winning the 500cc crown. He rebounded and won the 1975 500cc title, marking the first time a two-stroke machine won the premier class.
The 1975 championship would also be the last world title for the 33 year old Italian. In 1976, he rode both Yamaha and MV bikes in the 500cc class, yet raced only once in the 350cc to win in Assen. For the challenging Nürburgring, he chose the 500cc MV Agusta and took it to victory, winning the last Grand Prix for both himself, the marque and the last for four-stroke engines in the 500cc class.
He retired from motorcycle competition after finishing 6th in the 1977 season in which he also raced in 750cc endurance races for Yamaha.
British Formula One Series career
Active years 1979–1980
Races 23
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podium finishes 7
Career points 41
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
Non-riding career[edit]

Like John Surtees and Mike Hailwood before him, Agostini raced in Formula One cars. He competed in non-championship Formula One races in 1978. He competed in the European Formula 2 series in a Chevron B42-BMW and British Aurora Formula 1 with his own team and a Williams FW06. He ended his auto racing career in 1980.[4]
In 1982, Ago returned to the motorcycle racing as the Marlboro Yamaha team manager. As team manager he managed many successful riders including Kenny Roberts, and Eddie Lawson. He also served as the Cagiva race team manager in 1992.

Källa: Wikipedia.