|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
Hailwood, …Agostini, …Montano! - Munroe Motors and Thomas Montano Bring MV Agusta Back to the Isle of Man
(The fastest riders in a TT race that finish within 5% of the race winner’s time
receive a Silver Replica trophy, and those within 10% win a Bronze Replica
…there is no “gold”.)
Tom’s 17th place result in Superbike, the first race held nearly a week earlier,
was a heralding display of his and the MV Agusta’s potential. Throughout the
week of racing, Montano, along with the only other American competitors, Craig
McLean of Corte Madera, CA and Wade Boyd of San Francisco, posted competitive
results time after time. Montano and McLean battled within just a few seconds
of each other in both 600cc races. Boyd made a strong showing close behind them
with a Bronze in the Junior TT “B” race.
Montano’s week with the MV Agusta superbike gave the Munroe Motors team
invaluable experience with the stunning new bike. During the second of three
1000cc races, the Superstock, the MV Agusta competed in its stock form against a
field filled with the likes of Suzuki’s GSXR1000, Honda’s CBR1000 and RC51 and
Yamaha’s R1. Montano’s unrelenting throttle hand started to spin the clutch
free early into the 4-lap race, but Tom kept his lap times very competitive.
The clutch finally gave up on the last lap of the race - on the far side of the
Island road course. He left the bike with a trustworthy local and hitched a
courageous pillion ride back to the starting grid with a handy spectator. To
the amazement of his pit crew, Jamie Karrick and Matt Prentiss of Munroe Motors
and Adrian North of Douglas, Isle of Man, he made it back with literally seconds
to spare in time to start the 600 Junior TT “A” race on his trusty 1999 Yamaha
R6.
The virtually stock MV Agusta 1000 proved to be a formidable competitor against
the Superbike and Superstock-spec Japanese machines that littered the starting
grids. The ’05 1000cc MV Agusta was sprung from its crate in early April at
Munroe Motors in San Francisco. For break-in, Montano competed once with the new
bike, finishing 12th in the AFM Formula Pacific race May 1st at Infineon
Raceway, CA. Shortly thereafter, the bike had to be packed up and shipped to
the Isle of Man, giving the Munroe Motors team precious little time to prepare
for the epic week of road racing.
Aside from wearing out the clutch pack during the Superstock race, the MV Agusta
performed flawlessly throughout a hard week of practice and some 600 ultra-high
speed racing miles! Competition upgrades to the stock machine include Fast by
Ferracci slip-on mufflers and chip - with the catalytic converter masterfully
removed from the mid-pipe by Dennis Etcheverry at Norman Racing - fiberglass
race bodywork painted by Cycle Finish, a Graves front fairing bracket, a Brembo
GP front brake master cylinder and lightweight forged aluminum wheels for the
Superbike spec events. The motor remained untouched from the factory except for
the installation of MV Agusta’s reverse pattern shift drum.
It is Munroe Motors’ honor and Thomas Montano’s achievement to have raced the
fastest MV Agusta in the history of the Isle of Man TT races - and to have won a
Silver Replica in doing so. The accomplishment is especially gratifying because
Giacomo Agostini was on hand to take one of his championship winning MV Agusta
750 machines from the ‘70s around the road course for the Lap of Honor and
Classic Parade. This legendary and supremely competitive motorcycle brand has
made a forceful movement back into road racing in 2005 with Thomas Montano and
Munroe Motors.
For more information about the Isle of Man TT races, please visit:
iomtt.com
To download the results sheet from the Senior TT, please click on:
http://www.iomtt.com/results/2005/Fri10/senior-result.pdf
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
