Giacomo Agostini

Born June 1942. Regarded as a national hero in Italy, Agostini holds an impressive total of 15 World GP titles. As the ace rider of the MV Agusta team throughout the mid 60's to early 70's, he shocked many fans by moving to Yamaha in 1974. Upon this move, he commented, "I couldn't help but identify with Yamaha's Spirit of Challenge, and that's where the future is for me." With 13 titles already under his belt, he was quickly able to use his experience to command the Yamaha 2-stroke, on which he became the champion in the 350cc class that year.In 1975, he was able to secure his 15th rider title with four wins in the 500cc class.

"I still believe that moving to Yamaha was the right thing to do," he said. After retiring from racing, Agostini became involved in the management of the Yamaha Factory Team (Yamaha Team Agostini) from 1982. Here he led the likes of teammates Graeme Crosby, Kenny Roberts and Eddie Lawson into the GP500. In the 1990 and 1991 seasons, Agostini continued his management role in the 250cc class.