MV Agusta, originally Meccanica Verghera Agusta, is a motorcycle manufacturer founded on 12 February 1945 near Milan in Cascina Costa, Italy. The abbreviation MV stands for Meccanica (mechanics) Verghera, the hamlet where the first MVs were made. The company manufactured small-displacement, café racer-style motorcycles through the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1960s, small motorcycle sales declined, and MV started producing larger displacement cycles in more limited quantities. A 250 cc, and later a 350 cc twin were produced, and a 600 cc four-cylinder evolved into a 750 cc. The MV Agusta company was successful at racing during its founder's lifetime, winning multiple Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships through 1976.
Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time.
Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion and winner of the 2010 and 2012 World Superbike Championship. Throughout his racing career, he has won the 250cc World Championship four consecutive times, and finished as runner-up in both the 500cc and MotoGP championships. In 2007 he switched to the World Superbike Championship, finishing third overall as a rookie and earned his first Superbike World Championship in 2010 becoming only the 2nd European from outside the United Kingdom after Raymond Roche to do so. Biaggi announced his retirement from racing on 7 November 2012.
Kenneth Leroy Roberts is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. He was also a two-time winner of the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. Roberts is one of only four riders in American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) racing history to win the AMA Grand Slam, representing Grand National wins at a mile, half-mile, short-track, TT Steeplechase and road race events.
Randy Mamola is an American former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and current television sports commentator. He was one of the most charismatic Grand Prix motorcycle racers of his generation, becoming a favorite because of his interaction with race fans both on and off the track, as well as his aggressive, spirited riding style.
Frederick Burdette Spencer, sometimes known by the nickname Fast Freddie, is an American former world champion motorcycle racer. Spencer is regarded as one of the greatest motorcycle racers of the early 1980s.
Bruno Ruffo was an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer born in Verona. He won three Grand Prix World Championships.
Jarno Karl Keimo Saarinen was a Finnish professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. In the early 1970s, he was considered one of the most promising and talented motorcycle racers of his era until he was killed during the 1973 Nations Grand Prix in Italy. Saarinen's death led to increased demands for better safety conditions for motorcycle racers competing in the world championships. He remains the only Finn to have won a motorcycle road racing world championship. Saarinen was inducted into the F.I.M. MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2009.
Joël Robert is a Belgian former professional motocross racer. He was one of the most successful motocross racers competing in the Motocross World Championships during the 1960s and early 1970s, winning the 250cc class six times including five times in succession from 1968 to 1972. His battles with Sweden's Torsten Hallman were considered some of the best in the history of the championships. Between 1964 and 1968, the pair finished first or second to one another in the world championship four times.
Roger De Coster is a Belgian former professional motocross racer and current Motorsport Director of KTM and Husqvarna North America. De Coster's name is almost synonymous with the sport of motocross, winning five Motocross World Championships during the 1970s and tallying a record 36 500cc Grand Prix victories. His stature is such in the sport of motocross that he is often simply referred to as "The Man." As a team manager, he captained the first American team to win the Motocross des Nations in 1981. De Coster was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. The motorcycling publication Cycle News named him Motocrosser of the Century in 2000.
Torsten Hallman is a Swedish former professional motocross racer. During the 1960s, he was one of the top motocross racers competing in the Motocross World Championships, winning the 250cc class four times. His battles with Belgium’s Joël Robert were considered some of the best in the history of the championships. Between 1964 and 1968, the pair finished first or second to one another in the world championship four times.
James Albert Redman, is a British-born Rhodesian former professional motorcycle racer. He is a six-time Grand Prix world champion road racer.
John Kocinski is a retired Grand Prix motorcycle road racer whose successes include winning the 1990 250cc World Championship, and the 1997 Superbike World Championship title.
Ernst Degner was a German professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Degner was noted for defecting to the west in 1961, taking MZ's tuning techniques to Suzuki, and winning Suzuki's first Grand Prix championship in 1962.
Robert MacGregor McIntyre was a Scottish motorcycle racer. The first rider to achieve an average speed of 100 mph (160 km/h) for one lap of the Snaefell Mountain Course in 1957, McIntyre is also remembered for his five motorcycle Grand Prix wins which included three wins at the Isle of Man TT races, and four victories in the North West 200. He died nine days after injuries sustained racing at Oulton Park, Cheshire, England in August 1962.
Kelvin "Kel" Carruthers is an Australian former world champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and racing team manager. After his motorcycle riding career, he became race team manager for world championship winning riders Kenny Roberts and Eddie Lawson.
František ("Franta") Šťastný was a Czech Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.
Thomas Edward Phillis was an Australian professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He won the 1961 125cc motorcycle road racing World Championship and was the first person to lap the TT mountain circuit at over 100 mph on a pushrod engined motorcycle. He was also the first person to win a World Championship motorcycle race on a Japanese machine.
Stéphane Mertens is a Belgian former professional motorcycle road racer.
