Claudio Castiglioni RIP

Founder of Cagiva, and single handed reviver of much of the Italian motorcycle industry, Claudio Castiglioni passed away in Varese this morning after a brief illness. In recent months Castiglioni handed over control to his British-educated son Giovanni


Castiglioni was viewed both as a saviour and an incredibly cunning businessman. His most recent triumph came just last year, when Harley-Davidson paid him €20 million to take MV Agusta off their hands just two years after he’d sold it to them for €70 million. The deal made possible the new MV Agusta F3. When the lightest, most sophisticated supersport motorcycle ever goes on sale later this year, it’ll be a fine tribute to one of the most important men in motorcycling. Without him there would be no Ducati or MV, no 916, no Monster and no Eddie Lawson winning the Hungarian GP in 1992 on a Cagiva 500