Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1535807
"E very battle is won before it is ever fought." - Sun Tzu There is no fool like an old fool and in 1974, only the most roman- tic of old-timers would've given Italian manufacturer MV Agusta any chance of winning what was at the time motorcycling's most prestigious championship, the 500cc World Road Racing title. The storied Italian marque had just lost the services of its many- time champion Giacomo Agostini to Yamaha and their new two- stroke OW-23 500cc racer. Agos - tini's teammate was Finn Teuvo Lansivuori, while over at Suzuki, British superstar Barry Sheene was another serious threat on his own two-stroke Suzuki. Even though MV's Phil Read had won the championship in 1973, the reign of Count Agusta and his beloved MV Agusta racing motor - cycles was undoubtedly nearing an inevitable ending. Seriously. What edge could the old sucking, squeezing, banging and blowing four-stroke MV pos- sibly still hold over the faster and lighter two-strokes? Nothing at all! "Sometimes," said Cool Hand Luke, "nothing can be a real cool hand." Cycle News estimated the crowd at the Grand Prix of Imola, held on May 19, 1974, to be 120,000 strong. They were there to see the battle between their beloved national hero Agostini on a Yamaha take on Read, who was riding their beloved national motorcycle brand. Imola was round four of the series, and the two longtime rivals came into the event tied in points, though standing only third in the se - ries. Suzuki's Barry Sheene was second, and they all were chas- ing a relative newcomer to the series named Gianfranco Bonera. Though he was 29 years old, Bonera was still relatively new to the sport. He had spent many years racing bicycles and had his professional motorcycle racing debut just three years earlier in 1971. His talent had caught the eye of the Harley-Davidson (Aer - macchi) team, who invited him to join team rider Renzo Pasolini for a test session. Bonera posted several good finishes in the 1973 season, and in 1974, he was hired by MV Agusta to fill the spot left vacant by Agostini. The 500cc riders officially bumped-started their bikes at 4:40 p.m., but this race had actually begun hours earlier in the day, when FIM race officials received a letter from the MV Agusta team, threatening to pull both Read and Bonera from the Grand Prix event. The Italian team strongly objected to the decision that had been made to shorten the race from 36 to 30 laps, a request that had been submitted by the Yamaha and Suzuki race teams. While the FIM jury had initially agreed, they were now pondering the ramifications of the absence of the popular MV CNIIARCHIVES P130 BY KENT TAYLOR A RACE WON BEFORE IT STARTED "Little-known" Gianfranco Bonera runs 'em dry at Imola in 1974 Yamaha's Giacomo Agostini (1) had the 1974 500cc GP in Imola won until running out of gas on the last lap. MV Agusta's Gianfranco Bonera (4) took the win.