Giacomo Agostini turns 70
Published on 17 Jun 2012 by Toni M.
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The legendary Giacomo Agostini decided to celebrate his 70th birthday (June 16, 1942) with Yamaha during this weekend’s British GP. The GOAT (15 World Championship titles) and the Japanese team with the help of Ago’s wife Maria (who is Spanish) and their two children, Victoria and Giacomino organized the party.
Agostini raced for MV Agusta for most of his career before switching to Yamaha and gave them two titles, one in the 350cc category and their first ever in the 500cc class.
Saturday night in Yamaha’s hospitality ‘Ago’ was joined by a host of racing stars including current Yamaha Factory riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies, the recently retired Loris Capirossi and a number of living legends from Grand Prix racing history including Phil Read, John Cooper, Angel Nieto, Franco Uncini and Jim Redman. James Toseland turned up to sing Happy Birthday to the former champion and even Valentino Rossi crossed the Yamaha doors once again to wish Agostini a Happy Birthday and give him a special AGV helmet.
The helmet wasn’t the only gift he received as Yamaha gave him a one-of-a-kind Yamaha ‘Agostini’ T-Max personalised with his racing livery and a representation of his 15 titles.
“I want to say a big thank you to Yamaha for organising this special evening,” said Giacomo Agostini. “It’s been fantastic to have my family and friends from the paddock all here to celebrate. My feeling with Yamaha has always been good and today I feel even more part of the family. My T-Max is a beautiful gift; the problem now is I would like to have a party like this every year!”
“It’s a privilege to have Giacomo here and to be able to share his birthday with him,” commented Jorge Lorenzo. “To have won fifteen world titles is incredible. To see him still part of the Yamaha family and celebrating together so many years later is a good feeling; it was amazing to see all these great legends in our hospitality together with him. I think I would like a T-Max like his one day!”
“Giacomo is easily the greatest rider ever in Grand Prix racing, I was too young to see him race myself but I grew up knowing about him and his achievements,” said Ben Spies. “It’s great to be able to share his birthday here with him and pretty cool to see so many people showing their respect and honouring him.”
“The idea to organize a special event for Giacomo’s 70th birthday came from his wife Maria,” commented Marco Riva, General Manager, Yamaha Motor Racing. “It became a very special event and we were delighted to be able to make it a reality. It was a pleasure for us as Yamaha to be able to share the ‘Kando’ spirit with Giacomo, his family and other special guests. Our racing heritage is very important to us and
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