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42 years is a very long time, especially in the racing world, where everything moves at an extreme pace. MV Agusta, however, had the courage to return to a world it once dominated and that it had abandoned a long time ago. A twofold responsibility for those who will have to come to grips with that past.
President Giovanni Castiglioni knows this well, and, at the official presentation of the F2 (what MV named its Moto2 bike) and of the Forward team, he seemed undisturbed and confident.
“It’s really nice to see the MV logo on a bike that will race in the Moto2 World Championship. As of today, this is our utmost goal,” he said. “Afraid? I wouldn’t say so. I grew up on race tracks. My father was successful in all categories. I can say that, if you want to win, you’ll win. It takes time, but it’s not impossible.”
Castiglioni said the magic word: Win. Because nobody expected an MV to participate, even if the Moto2 is not an easy category, and, this year, with the introduction of the Triumph engines, everyone will be starting from scratch.
“Winning is essential,” he admits. "But I'm aware that we’re starting from scratch, so the bike and experience aren’t enough, we also need the times. During the first year, we’ll have to develop the bike and learn, and create our own database. Then we’ll be able to improve. I accepted this challenge because we have a great deal of experience with three-cylinder engines. We got really close to the Supersport World Championship, and we produce 80% of our bikes with this type of engine.”
What is surprising is the affection fans have for the brand, despite having been away from the world championship for such a long time.
“It’s the only true Italian brand left. I mean, it doesn’t belong to multinationals but to a family,” explains Giovanni. “It’s great to see it make a come back. We’ve had many winning brands in our family - Ducati, Cagiva, Husqvarna - and we want to try to also win with MV Agusta.”
Now, all that remains is to see how the F2 will behave on the track, and Castiglioni promises to observe it very closely.
“If Cuzari invites me, I’ll also gladly return to a few races,” he laughed.
