MV Agusta To Return To Grand Prix Racing After 40-Year Hiatus

The legendary bikemaker will battle it out in the Moto2 category with a Triumph-sourced engine

After almost 40 years of absence, MV Agusta will finally be returning to its racing roots with a Moto2 team. The Italian brand has joined hands with Forward Racing for the upcoming 2019 season.

MV’s return to Grand Prix will be with a Triumph-sourced 765cc triple-cylinder engine, replacing Honda's current 600cc inline four-cylinder mill. While the frame itself will be made by MV Agusta, the swingarm will be designed by Forward Racing' chassis partner Suter.

Although we're still a month away from seeing the bike in the flesh, MV has given us a brief teaser of their new Grand Prix motorcycle - and not surprisingly, it looks like the company's three cylinder-powered F3 Super Sport… but more evolved. For starters, the trellis frame and the fuel tank remains unchanged while the oblong headlight has now been replaced with an air intake. However, it still continues to look like an MV, so fans shouldn’t have difficulty picking it out of the lineup.

Speaking on the occasion, Giovanni Castiglioni, President of MV Agusta, said: "MV Agusta is the most successful brand in the history of motorcycling. The return of MV Agusta to the Grand Prix is a great honour for me. The Moto2 World Championship is very competitive and in order to be successful we need to apply the best of our technology and experience in racing motorcycle development."

MV’s partner in this, Forward Racing, has so far put in an impressive performance in the Moto2 class, with a pole position on their debut and a win in their fifth race at Silverstone. This form continued in MotoGP too, with a win in Open Class in 2014. However, since 2016, their sole focus has only been Moto2.

"The dream of bringing MV Agusta back to the World Championship was born with Claudio Castiglioni, to whom I have always been linked by deep esteem and friendship, and the dream came true with his son Giovanni," said Giovanni Cuzari, Forward Racing CEO.

Source: zigwheels.com