Ivano Beggio, the man who transformed Aprilia from a small bicycle factory into a glorious motorcycling brand, has died at the age of 73. In addition to his ability as a captain of industry, Beggio is also remembered as a talent scout: it was he who launched riders such as Valentino Rossi, Max Biaggi, Marco Melandri and Manuel Poggiali into the Olympus of two wheels.
He was born in Rio San Martino di Scorzè, in the Venetian area, and had joined his father at a very young age in the small bicycle construction workshop. At the age of 27, orphaned, he had taken over the leadership of Aprilia, in Noale (Venice), directing it towards the production of sports vehicles and winning the Italian 1977 and 125 cc title in 250 with Ivan Alborghetti.
On 26 June 1987 an Aprilia won a world championship race and in 1989 Aprilia won its first European speed title. In 1992 the first two world titles arrived in the Trial and in the world speed class 125.
"He has been able to combine the competence and courage of an entrepreneur with creativity and a genuine passion for motorcycles", said the president and director of Piaggio, Roberto Colaninno, recalling the founder of Aprilia, a company which has been part of the group since 2004 Pontedera. "He was an early visionary - he added - and the extraordinary combination of these factors allowed him to create, practically from nothing, one of the most beautiful stories of the Italian motorcycle industry, giving life to a dream".
