Cagiva C591 500cc V4 Grand Prix Eddie Lawson Italian Grand Prix Misano 1991 moto

Description

A superb and rare photo of the magnificent
Eddie Lawson
.
Shown is multiple world champion Eddie Lawson with the Cagiva C591 (or V591) 500cc V4 Grand Prix racer, on his way to a magnificent 3rd spot in the Italian Grand Prix which was held at the circuit of Misano on May 19 1991. It was Lawson’s first podium result after he signed up with Cagiva!
In 1991, Cagiva hired the services of four-time (1984, 86, 88 and 89) 500cc world champion Eddie Lawson, while still retaining Alex Barros as their other rider. With inputs from Lawson, Cagiva made some major changes to the bike’s (the C591 or V591) chassis, modifying the steering geometry and repositioning the engine in the chassis. Engine power output was 169bhp at 12,000rpm which rose slightly for the 1992 racing season when he gave Cagiva and the Castiglioni brothers their first ever Grand Prix victory by winning the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Engine Water-cooled 80-degree twin-crank V4 - 498cc
Claimed power (bhp)
Compression ratio
Transmission Six speed
Cycle parts
Frame Aluminium twin beam
Suspension, front 46mm inverted Öhlins fork, adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping
Rear Öhlins monoshock, adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping
Brakes, front Twin 320mm carbon discs, four-piston Brembo calipers
Rear Single carbon disc, twin-piston caliper
Tyres, front 120/60 x 17in Michelin
Rear 180/67 x 17in Michelin
Wheelbase 1395mm (54.9in)
Dry weight 128.5kg (283lb) without fuel tank
Performance
Top speed
190 mph
(est)
Eddie Lawson
won the Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion no less then 4 times! His penchant for consistently finishing in the points earned him the nickname "Steady Eddie". Lawson began his motorcycle racing career in the
Southern California
dirt track circuit. When it became increasingly difficult to find machinery able to compete with the dominant Harley Davidsons, he switched his attention to road racing. In 1979, Lawson finished the season second behind Freddie Spencer in the AMA 250cc road racing National Championship. Afterwards, he was offered a ride with the Kawasaki Superbike team and won the AMA Superbike Series in 1981 and 1982. He also won the AMA 250cc road racing National Championship in 1980 and 1981 for
Kawasaki
. Lawson accepted an offer from Yamaha to contest the 500cc World Championship as Kenny Roberts' team-mate for the 1983 season. Lawson spent the 1983 season learning the ropes of the Grand Prix circuit. In 1984 , Lawson began winning regularly and won the 1984 world championship. It would mark the first of four world titles Lawson would go on to win. After winning two more titles for Yamaha in 1986 and 1988, Lawson shocked the racing world by announcing he would be leaving Yamaha to sign with their arch-rivals Honda. He went on to win the 1989 title for Honda, becoming the first rider to win back-to-back championships on machines from different manufacturers. In 1990, Lawson won the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race on a Yamaha FZR750R OW01 paired with Japanese rider Tadahiko Taira. Lawson also won the Daytona
200 in
1986 and came out of retirement to win it again in 1993. When he retired from GP racing in the early 1990s, he ranked third on the all-time 500cc Grand Prix wins list with 31. After finishing his motorcycle career, Lawson pursued a career in four wheeled motorsport racing in the
United States
competing in the Indy Lights series and eventually to CART. In 1996 where he competed in 11 races with a best finish of 6th. His passion for speed remains undiminished and the former World Champion now enjoys driving 250cc Go karts often accompanied by his great friend and rival Wayne Rainey, who races in a specially modified kart to cope with his spinal injuries. Lawson was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of
America
in 2002. The FIM named him a Grand Prix "Legend" in 2005.
Cagiva
was founded in 1950 by Giovanni Castiglioni in
Varese
, originally producing small metal components. It went into the motorcycle industry in 1978. The name is a portmanteau derived from the founder and the founding location, i.e. CAstiglioni GIovanni VArese. In 1999 for strategic purposes, the company got restructured. MV Agusta Motor became the main brand comprising Cagiva and Husqvarna. The company currently operates under the name MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. but remains under the ownership of Giovanni's sons, Claudio and Gianfranco Castiglioni. In 1978 Cagiva entered the motorcycle business with two racing motorcycles riden by Gianfranco Bonera and Marco Lucchinelli. In the same year they bought a factory in Schiranna, Varese from AMF-Harley Davidson and went into motorcycle production. By 1979 the company reached an annual production of 40,000 motorbikes, with eight models with two-stroke engines ranging from 125 cc to 350 cc. Many of the Harley-Davidson models were continued in production as Cagivas, and the off-road motorcycle division was improved and expanded, eventually producing their own race-winning WMX series of moto-cross motorcycles. In 1983 Cagiva also sourced Ducati four stroke v-twin engines from 350 cc to 1000 cc and entered the big displacement market. Cagiva bought Ducati in 1985, but kept the Ducati name that was better recognized outside
Italy
. Ducati motorcycle production continued in
Bologna
, while the Varese-built Cagiva Ala Azzurra (sold under the name "Alazzurra") and Elefant were introduced, both featuring Ducati engines. Cagiva continued with strategic buyouts of Moto Morini in 1985 and Husqvarna in
1987. In
1991 Cagiva also bought the trademarks for the MV Agusta brand whch they sold again in
2008. In
1996, Ducati and the Moto Morini name were sold to
Texas
Pacific Group In 1999, for strategic purposes, the company got restructured. MV Agusta Motor become the main brand comprising Cagiva and Husqvarna. In the early 1980s Cagiva began to manufacture dirt bikes and started a massive public relations program with the opening of their North American branch. They hired "Radical" Ron Turner to test and develop their bikes. They also had Duane Summers, a legend in the cross country pro circuit. This was when Johnny O'Mara was the fast one on the 125 cc bikes that year and Ron beat Johnny numerous times at local
Southern California
tracks. Cagiva motocross bikes were characterized by their fast powerful engines and innovative features, such as the MX line that had only one spring in the front forks with one fork controlling dampening and the other spring. At the end of the 1970s the company began campaigning the Grand Prix motorcycle racing circuit. Randy Mamola was their lead rider from 1988 to 1990, and he achieved Cagiva’s first podium result. They would also have some technical assistance from Yamaha. In 1991 they signed former world champion Eddie Lawson to their team. Lawson would claim their first victory when he won the 1992 Hungarian Grand Prix. John Kocinski would also win a Grand Prix on a Cagiva GP500 (C594), finishing third in the 1994 world championship. In 1990 and 1994 the Italian rider Edi Orioli won the famed Dakar Rally on the Ducati-powered Cagiva Elefant. Cagiva bought BMCs design for the Mini Moke, manufacturing them in
Portugal
using British built engines from 1990 until 1993. Intending to transfer production to the
Bologna
factory early in 1995, the tooling for the Moke was transferred to
Italy
late in 1993 – but production never restarted. Past models that Cagiva build were the Cagiva SST-125 , SS-175 , MXR-250 , RX-250 , SST-350 , SXT-350 , WMX-125, WMX-250 , WXR-500 , WMX-500. The current models feature the Cagiva Mito and the Cagiva Raptor, in various version.
This is a very nice and very rare
non period
photo that reflects a wonderful era of Cagiva ‘s rich motorcycle history in a wonderful way. This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 x 30 cm). It makes it perfectly suitable for framing!
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