Aprilia founder passes away

The founder of Aprilia, Ivano Beggio, has passed away at the age of 73.

Beggio, born in 1944, began his passion for two wheels in his father's Aprilia handmade bicycle factory, innovating and diversifying production with the introduction of motorcycles and scooters.

In 1975, he established a small team to race motorcycles and Aprilia soon made a name for itself, so much that it won the Italian motocross championship in the 125 and 250cc classes in 1977.

From 1980, Aprilia began to mass produce small-capacity motorcycles before launching highly successful, aesthetically and technologically innovative scooters including the Scarabeo, the first high-wheel scooter on the European market.

In 1998 Aprilia entered the large-capacity motorcycle sector with the RSV Mille.

In GP road racing, Aprilia made its début in 1985 in the 250 class, and its stable of riders have included Max Biaggi, Marco Simoncelli, Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Alvaro Bautista, Loris Capirossi, Marco Melandri, Manuel Poggiali and Alessandro Gramigni.

Aprilia has won 54 world titles across the GP, WorldSBK, superstock, supermoto and trial categories.

Aprilia has been part of the Piaggio Group since 2004.

“Ivano Beggio succeeded in combining the skills and courage of an entrepreneur with creativity and a genuine passion for motorcycles,” said Roberto Colaninno, Chairman and CEO of the Piaggio Group. “He was a visionary ahead of his time and the extraordinary combination of these factors allowed him to create, practically from nothing, one of the most brilliant stories in the Italian motorcycle industry, making a dream come true. Continuing to race and improve the Aprilia brand around the world is the best way to honour his memory.”

Beggio is also remembered by world champion Max Biaggi, who began his brilliant career with Aprilia in 1992. He said: “Ivano Beggio was part of my life as an athlete – a sort of father in racing to me. He gave me his trust and a competitive bike when, after winning the European championship, also on Aprilia, I was little more than a boy.

“His was a brave choice, but also intelligent. And these are the two aspects that I remember most clearly about Ivano Beggio – knowing how to place a lot of passion at the service of his skills in order to always find the strength and energy for an extra step. This was also instrumental in achieving my many wins with Aprilia.”

RIP Ivano Beggio.