From ‘Ago’ to ‘Pecco’… it seems almost impossible that it took 50 years for an Italian rider on a Made in Italy bike – a Ducati – to win the MotoGP 500 top class title, taking the ‘baton’ from Giacomo Agostini aka ‘Ago’, the most successful rider ever, World Champion seven times in a row on an MV Augusta, the last time in 1972.
Today, it is the turn of Francesco Bagnaia, born in Turin in 1997 and known to everyone as Pecco (his nickname since childhood), to take up this prestigious legacy. Arriving in the official Ducati Motor Holding team in 2021, he has believed in the dream of bringing the Made in Italy rider-bike duo back to winning – a textbook feat!
From radio communications to engines
Ducati, today led by CEO Claudio Domenicali, is a historic brand that already has three constructor’s world championships to its credit in the 500 class and certainly needs no introduction. Yet probably not everyone knows that the company, founded in 1926 by brothers Adriano, Bruno and Marcello Cavalieri Ducati, began its activities under the name of Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati, specialising in the research and production of radio communication technology.
In fact, in 1924, Adriano, a brilliant physics student, became famous for successfully carrying out a radio broadcast experiment between Italy and America with the short-wave equipment he had designed. The company almost immediately began to move into different industrial sectors, and in 1935, the factory where Ducati Motor Holding Spa and Ducati Energia Spa are currently based was built.
Back to Pecco, the young rider met President Mattarella a few days ago, to whom he gave an autographed helmet; these are the president’s words: ‘Young and sporty Pecco is an excellent example for Italy. A model of talent that wins thanks to the many professional skills within Ducati, an Italian company ‘.
Thanks to the Italians who dream, believe and lead Italy to victory in the world!
Discover the other Made in Italy outstanding companies from Emilia Romagna.