After 42 years of absence from Grands Prix, having won 270 GPs, 38 World Drivers' Championships and 37 World Manufacturers' Championships, the Varese manufacturer, founded in 1945 by Giovanni Agusta, returned with a certain brilliance last year. last in Moto2 with Stefano Manzi, Dominique Aegerter and Gabriele Ruiu.
The results of this new team "MV Agusta Temporary Forward" were honest with seventh place in Assen for Manzi, who then finished tenth then ninth in Japan and Australia, to magnificently close his season with fourth position in Valencia, one tenth from third Jorge Navarro.
To Paolo Bianchi, Technical and CRC Director, the Castiglioni Research Center, “ improvements came relatively quickly. Although no one noticed it, the bike was rebuilt 3 times during the year. The first step was to reduce frame weight and address aerodynamic issues, with the new fairing debuting at Mugello. In this race, we went from 15 km/h behind the best to the same speed as them.
“At Phillip Island, Stefano manzi managed to break the top speed record with 301,6 km/h. The aerodynamic evolution made at Mugello was very important, then we then introduced other solutions. »
“The other important improvement during the season was to work to reduce weight, managing to lighten the frame without losing rigidity. Then, in Austria, we decided to make our own swingarm, whereas previously it was something other manufacturers used. It was an adventure because we started with a few references but we brought the new swingarm to Thailand. The bike got better and from there we moved on. »
“The only thing we lacked was time because we used the races as a test, constantly bringing new solutions to try. At a certain point, Stefano told me not to do it anymore, he needed stability. This is the one he had in the last 4 races of the season. »
“For 2020 we are going to change the weight distribution, already last year we tried to move the engine. We have ideas in this direction and we are still working on aerodynamics, as well as improving ergonomics. The bike will not be disrupted, it is a new project which still needs to evolve. »
“This year, Manzi will be accompanied by Simone Courses, a rider with extensive experience in Moto2. I met him last year in Misano, during a test on our bike, and he seemed to me to be an easy person to communicate with and a rider with very good sensitivity. This is very useful, because last year we had some difficulty interpreting Aegerter's indications, perhaps he did not have great sensitivity. I saw Simone very motivated, I think he can help us in the development of the bike. »
Photos © MV Agusta Temporary Forward
source: Gpone.com
