Tamburini Leaves Mv Agusta

TAMBURINI LEAVES MV AGUSTA

MV AGUSTA RECENTLY SENT OUT A press release stating that, after 13 years of fruitful cooperation, Massimo Tamburini, designer of the iconic Ducati 916 and MV Agusta F4, was retiring from his position as design chief and head of the Cagiva Research

Center in San Marino. This was an absolute bolt from the blue. Tamburini, who turned 65 last November, recently confirmed that he was hard at work on a new family of MVs designed around a three-cylinder engine displacing between 675 and 850cc. The concept was to bring back the most legendary and successful of all MV racers: the 350/500 Triple ridden by Giacomo Agostini.

Tamburini explained that he had been toying with the concept of a compact, lightweight Triple for a couple of years and gotten technical support from a handful of MV old-timers. He did not sound like a man who was ready to

replace his computer and drawing board with a fishing rod. During that same conversation, he mentioned that he was having issues finalizing his contract with new MV owner Harley-Davidson. He was, however, confident that the end result would be positive.

Regarding this most recent turn of events, Tamburini confirmed there had been prob lems with his contract and that he had hoped for further negotia tions. He was careful to underline that the concerns were not about money. He would have accepted a sabbatical year and didn’t appreciate that the release said he was retiring.

“Only the Lord God Almighty will determine the date of my retirement,” stated Tamburini. “I will not retire.

I will start my own business all over again. I did it before and I can do it again, even alone. My passionate love for motorcycles and motorcycling will never retire.” -Bruno de Prato