IN
THE
WIND
P58
APRILIA FOUNDER
IVANO BEGGIO PASSES
T
he Piaggio Group and Aprilia
are mourning the passing of
Ivano Beggio, 73, who founded
the Aprilia brand.
For Roberto Colaninno, Chair-
man and CEO of the Piaggio
Group (of which Aprilia has been
a part since 2004): "Ivano Beg-
gio succeeded in combining the
skills and courage of an entrepre-
neur with creativity and a genuine
passion for motorcycles. He was
a visionary ahead of his time and
the extraordinary combination
of these factors allowed him to
create, practically from nothing,
one of the most brilliant stories
in the Italian motorcycle indus-
try, making a dream come true.
Continuing to race and improve
the Aprilia brand around the
world is the best way to honor his
memory."
Beggio, born in 1944, began
his passion for two wheels in his
father's Aprilia handmade bicycle
factory, innovating and diversify-
ing production, with the introduc-
tion of motorcycles and scooters.
In 1975, he established a small
team for the production of racing
motorcycles, which, thanks to
technical-productive innovation,
soon made a name for itself, so
much that it won the Italian Mo-
tocross Championship in the 125
and 250cc classes in 1977. From
1980, Aprilia began to mass-pro-
duce small-engine motorcycles
(50 and 125cc), then launched
highly successful, aesthetically
and technologically innovative
models on the market for urban
mobility: in 1991, the Scarabeo,
the first high-wheel scooter on
the European market; in 1992,
the first two-stroke scooter and
motorcycle with a catalytic muf-
fler; in 1993, the first scooter
with a registration plate; in 1998
it entered the large-engine-ca-
pacity motorcycle sector with the
RSV Mille.
In World Championship GP
Motorcycle Racing, where it
made its début in 1985 in the
250cc class, Aprilia took world-
class champions to success
the likes of Max Biaggi, Marco
Simoncelli, Valentino Rossi,
Casey Stoner, Alvaro Bautista,
Loris Capirossi, Marco Melandri,
Manuel Poggiali and Alessandro
Gramigni.
With 294 grand prix races
won in World Championship GP
Motorcycle Racing from 1987
to the present, Aprilia holds the
record for the most wins of any
European manufacturer in the
history of maximum motorcycle
competition. CN
MotoGP honored both
Ralf Waldmann and Ivano
Beggio, both of whom
passed away recently.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
GOLD
&
GOOSE
