Cagiva

Cagiva is an Italian manufacturer of motor bikes installed close to Milan.

History

The firm was born in 1950 with Giovanni Castiglioni. Cagiva means besides Castiglioni Giovanni Varese. In the beginning, Cagiva manufactured metal parts. But Castiglioni one was bitten of competition motor bike. It decided to create a team with two motor bikes designed by the factory, controlled by Bonera and Lucchinelli.

And then the desire for putting its passion and its trade jointly taken form. It repurchased factory MFA Harley-Davidson of Schiranna and discharged engineers from Aermacchi and MV Agusta. Until 1980, the production will carry logo HD Cagiva.
In 1983, an agreement is signed with Ducati for the supply of engines. It is the beginning of a long agreement between the two marks.

Cagiva, whose production goes well, will repurchase a great number of Italian marks. Ducati, MV Agusta, Laverda, Motor bike Morini, Husqvarna make or made party of the Cagiva big family.

In 1987, on an idea of Claudio Castiglionni and Massimo Tamburini, the Republic of San Marin accommodates the CRC (Cagiva Research Center). To the point of technology, this unit entirely devoted to the development of the motor bikes will give rise to a great number of technological innovations, like to many mythical models such as the Ducati 916 or the MV Agusta F4.

In 2007, Husqvarna is repurchased by BMW.

Competition

Circuit

After having sponsored the Yamaha and Suzuki of the TEAM Life, directed by Alberto Pagani at the end of the Years 1970, Cagiva arrives with its own machine at the Grand Prix of Germany 1980.
The pilot is Virginio Ferrari (vice-champion 500 cm ³ the year previous within the TEAM Zago). Its machine is an hybrid on the basis of Yamaha TZ 500.
The ambition of the team is not to fight for the victory, only to finish the race. But, after being itself qualified in last position, Ferrari withdraws itself after the first turn of race.

The GP of Germany 1981 sees the presentation of the first official engine machine Cagiva, always controlled by Ferrari. It is one four cylinders on line with a food by four rotary discs. The tallies is traditional a double cradle out of tubes of aciers.
This motor bike obtains the 44ème time and finishes the race with the 30ème place.
The season continues on the same tone as the year previous, with the best result obtained with the GP of San Marino in 19th place.

1982 represents a technical change and the first treason. Dutch Van Dulmen and Massimo Broccoli is propelled pilots. But Dulmen leaves the team to pass to Yamaha at the beginning of season. Cagiva recruits the southern African Jon Ekerold to replace it.

The motor bike is completely new: the engine four cylinders in square, very tilted forwards, is always supplied by rotary discs laid out on the side of the casing as on Suzuki 500 Gamma.
The framework is a double cradle out of tube of Aluminum carrés.
During the season, Jon Ekerold gives whole satisfaction to the team. It is qualified in good places and finish the races, bringing to Cagiva its first point while finishing to the tenth place of the last Grand Prix of the season to Hockenheim.

For the season 1983, the Castiglioni brothers increase the investment and a new motor bike arrives in the course of season. Jon Ekerold keeps its handlebar. It is joined by Virginio Ferrari, which returns after one catastrophic season at Suzuki.
The relationship between Ekerold and its team is tended. The results are not convincing and the motor bike works badly. The South-African one is laid off.

Ferrari finishes only the season, with a motor bike almost inconduisible.
The news 4C3 has the engine of the previous model but with a major installation. This engine is semi-carrier, with front, a structure which includes the steering column is bolted with the engine, while with the back, it is a large plate which connects it to the oscillating arm. The results are not convincing and Ferrari requires that one give again a traditional framework to him doubles aluminum cradle, but the season is compromised.

The season 1984 is even more disastrous. Ferrari joined the TEAM Yamaha-Agostini, like team-member of Eddy Lawson and Castiglioni recruits Marco Lucchinelli
He promises the victory and success but reality is différente.
It is qualified with the 18th time for the 200 miles of Imola but in championship obtains only unequal results with a culminating point for the GP of France where it gives up after having destroyed the machine on accident.
The machine was not so different. The framework doubles aluminum cradle was more compact and light and the engine asserted 132 horses.

Taking again the station of Lucchinelli, French Herve Moineau places the machine in the 10th place at the time of the GP of Yugoslavia. Another French, Pierre Bowl, take the continuation.

In 1985, Cagiva proposes a new technical solution. Lucchinelli and Ferrari are again pilot. The motor bike is completely new, with a V4 engine open to 90° with 2 act and food by valves. The framework is copied from Deltabox Yamaha.
The motor bike makes several turns on the track of the circuit of Misano August 19th and 20th 1985, with the hands of Kenny Roberts.

The councils of Roberts allow to create C10 on the basis of preceding, but more competitive motor bike. In 1986, the Spanish pilot Juan Garriga joined Lucchinelli. It finishes seventeenth of the championship, while having finished eighth of its national GP.

In 1987, the structure is supplemented. The Belgian François Batt is named sport director. He engages Didier de Radigues and Raymond Roche as pilot.

Marlboro arrives as principal sponsor and the machines pass from the red/money to the red identical to Formulas 1 Ferrari. It is the first time that the Castiglioni brothers accept a sponsor who is not a technical partner.

The new machine, C587, presented at the time of the fourth test, can compete with the Japanese marks. New the four cylinders out of V is henceforth opened with 58°.
The framework is always of perimetric type but smaller. With the GP of Brazil, De Radigues finishes 4th.

In 1988, the Belgian pilot passes to Yamaha and Cagiva engages Randy Mamola, vice-champion of the world 1987, at the side of Raymond Roche.
C588 is fitted out of tire Pirelli. The engine is smaller and the reinforced framework adopts an oscillating arm banane.
Massimo Tamburini draws a prettier and aerodynamic careenage. The machine is potentially compétitive.
But Roche is victim of an accident on the circuit of Imola.
The season continues with a thirteenth position in Belgium, fourth in Yugoslavia and seventh in France.

Cagiva is finally competitive and the season 1989 promises to be palpitating. But, all does not go as not hoped. C589, although lighter and more powerful suffers from problems of distribution which prevent Mamola from using all the cavalry available. The American pilot is démotivé. He any more but does not think of making the spectacle instead of trying to garner points. He makes an error on the circuit of Assen in the turn of formation and he falls. The Castiglioni brothers nevertheless are persuaded of the potential of the motor bike and they renew Mamola for the following season, associated with Ron Haslam and Brazilian Alexandre Barros.

The sporting structure is modified. Virginio Ferrari is named sport director responsible Fiorenzo Fanali tracks.

The results continue to be bad. Mamola is wounded during the Grand Prix of the United States and loses any motivation for the remainder of the season. Barros is victim many falls without gravité.
With the GP of Yugoslavia, Mamola and Haslam are struck in the first turn, Barros falls with the third.

The official pilots make good match in term of result with private pilots.

The season does not improve and in spite of the appearance during the GP of Czechoslovakia of C590 with carbon fiber framework. The Castiglioni brothers threaten to withdraw themselves if the results are not convincing. Eddy Lawson is recruited.

The turning coincides with the arrival of Eddy Lawson to the end of the year 1990 (which at 33 years asserts four titles and 30 victories with Honda and Yamaha) which must face a not very competitive motor bike and démotivés pilots. The dream Lawson to conclude its career while gaining on the saddle from Cagiva, arrives on August 12th 1992 at the GP of Hungary, on the circuit of Hungaroring. The road is traced. Cagiva is really competitive and as from this moment can only be improved.

The history finishes when the Castiglioni brothers decide to engage all the human and financial means on the news MV Agusta.

After fourteen years of fight with the Japanese constructors, Cagiva withdraws officially championship Speed 500 cm ³ in 1994.

Three victories, eleven podiums, six the pole positions, and three turns fastest. It is the assessment of the history of Cagiva of Grand Prix, beginning its career in Nurburgring on August 24th, 1980 and finishing on October 9th, 1994 with Barcelona on the circuit of Catalogne at the end of the Grand Prix of Europe.

Its last appearance takes place in 1995 with the GP of Italy, controlled by Pierfrancesco Chile which is qualified with the third time before missing the podium for a small error after a very beautiful race.

Rally-raid

But it is in rally-raid, and especially with the Paris-Dakar, that the mark acquired a certain notoriety with its Elefant models.

In the middle of the years 1980, the rallys were very popular in France, in Spain and of course in Italy. The Italian mark of tradition was to take part in it. It is the case starting from 1984.

The choice of the engine was simple: Cagiva then had Ducati and the longitudinal twin-cylinder out of V with 90° characteristic of the mark, enclosed in light a tallies lattice and a part cycles rigid was one of the most powerful engines aligned with the rally Paris-Dakar. He promised with long to hold the top of the paving stone. Thus the cubic capacity evolved/moved of 750 to almost 1000 cm ³ while passing by 860 cm ³ during its use in rally. With an enormous radiator under the plate headlight and a gasoline tank of almost 70 liters, these motor bikes took the name of Elefant rightly.

One engaged in particular to control these machines the double winner of the rally Paris-Dakar Hubert Auriol which had left BMW, and the veteran Serge Bacou, who came from to Yamaha.

The machines of Cagiva factory were first of all to pass by a stage of evolution and of improvement and it in 1987 is that the objective was going almost to be reached if a serious accident did not have constrained the pilot best placed, Hubert Auriol, to give up.

The first victory in rally was to return this year there to Alessandro Of $petri at the time of the Rally of the Pharaons.

In 1989, the factory engaged, in the place of Hubert Auriol, Italian EDI Orioli, who in 1988 had gained on Honda, and which owed as from this moment throw noisy Cagiva on the ensablées tracks of the desert, for finally tearing off the victory in 1990. This Alessandro year Of $petri was to finish in more third. In the same way, the Rally of the Pharaons was gained in 1989 by the two pilots of Cagiva factory. When one replaced Orioli with beginning of the year 90 by the champion of Moto-cross Danny Laporte, it left always victorious their duels: indeed Laporte very often broke some bones during falls at high speed and was to give up most of the time quickly, as it was the case in 1993, where it broke the wrist in the very first stages. It could not even join Dakar.

A great success at the time of Paris-Dakar represented the double victory in 1994. During this race, the surpuissante Yamaha 850T shone by its absence and was to leave the free field with Orioli and Spanish Jordi Arcarons. The race had been reduced this year to a duel between Cagiva.

In 1995, there be still for Cagiva a very beautiful second and third place, in the inverse order this time and behind Yamaha of Stephan Peterhansel.

The reliability of Elefants leaving something to be desired more and more, the glorious time of Cagiva in rally touched at its end and the Cagiva team withdrew at the end of 1995.

Cagiva still proposed during many years of the specific models modified for rallys, which made it possible to the private pilots to get powerful machines for relatively little money. The private pilot Oskar Garlado made fury by obtaining in 1997 one second place with one of these machines competition-customer, which enabled him to pass professional.

Production

Gallery

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