Top secret: Hidden beneath the Desmosedici's fairing are various mysterious electronic box
As Ago returned the MV to the pits, Ducati test rider Guareschi took to the track for a few shakedown laps, the Desmosedici having never been ridden at Monza. The Italian circuit has been off the MotoGP calendar since the early '80s, so there's no point in testing there, and besides, Monza is MV territory: Legend has it that every MV streetbike was tested at Monza and geared accordingly. The most obvious immediate difference was how much quicker the modern bike went through the gears- Guareschi was in fourth by the end of pit lane.
While Vitto checked out the Ducati, Ago's crew fired up the '73 MV, which was reputed to be in a higher state of tune than the '74. It certainly sounded that way, running rough except at peak revs, when its deafening exhaust note was glorious. Indeed, Ago had a hard time clearing its throat, slipping the clutch the length of pit lane. Once underway the bike didn't run much better, sounding like it had clogged pilot jets. Maybe it did. Ago brought it back to the pits after just one lap and handed it back to the mechanics with a dour look on his face.
MV is comparatively simple, with old-fashioned sparkplug wires and a mechanical carburetor
Then it was time: Agostini is nothing if not cool, and while his facial expression didn't give away his nervousness as he approached the Desmosedici, his body language said otherwise. He had a hard time swinging his leg over the tail, the bike still sitting tall on its rear stand, and while he made a joke about that, you could tell he was embarrassed. He got something of a running start for his second, successful attempt, then settled into the saddle, clicked the bike into gear, let out the clutch...and just like that we were watching history in the making.
Meanwhile, Vitto had taken to the track on the '74 MV, and as fate would have it, Ago joined in just behind him. For a minute or two it was concerto in moto maggiore as the two unmuffl ed motorcycles circulated together, their engine revs rising and falling in unison. Then, as they headed onto the back straight, Ago stretched the Desmosedici's throttle cable, passed Vitto and disappeared into the distance. He did just three laps on the Ducati before pitting, and while he returned to the track a short while later it was just for photos, as rain had begun to fall. Although the bike was quickly fitted with rain tires, it still had carbon rotors, which don't work very well in the wet. Even 15-time world champions know enough to take it easy on someone else's motorcycle-especially when said bike is worth a million dollars or more.
Ago and Vitto flanked by the original crew from the former's 1972 season, when he won both
As Ago spoke to the Italian press, I cornered Vitto and asked him how the MV compared to the Ducati. "There's a big difference," he replied in his best paddock English. "When I started on the track on the MV, the The feeling is close to a bike for the street. My father has an old Moto Guzzi V7 Sport, and the feeling is very similar: the position, the brakes, the engine, everything. You have to pull the brake lever sooo hard. And when you downshift is very slow: wom, wom, wom. But this is race engine, and race brakes, so is better. Is like when I ride a 1098 and then the Desmosedici: Step by step, street to race, the difference is the same.
"Asked what it was like to be passed by his own bike, Vitto smiled and said, "At the exit of the Ascari corner, Giacomo passed me. I stayed in the bubble and I see the revs:13,000...14,000. And Giacomo: bah, bah, bah. Maybe the Desmosedici has three times the power! But I think, 'This is Agostini's bike and it wins many world championships. I don't want to crash or break the engine.'"
Although Agostini won 13 of his 15 world championships on MVs, the number-one plate on thi
When Ago was done with the Italian press, I cornered him for a brief debriefing, and he echoed Guareschi's sentiments: "There is a big difference, for sure," he began. "Is about 35 years' difference, so the progress is a lot. If you go 85 percent, the Desmosedici is easy to ride. But when you go 100 percent, I'm sure is much more difficult.