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Massimo Bordi

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Right on heels of the news that Massimo Bordi has left MV Agusta, we get news from the Italian marque that Giorgio Girelli has been appointed the new Executive Vice President of MV Agusta Motor SpA. According to the company’s press release, Girelli’s appointment to the MV Agusta’s Board of Directors is part of three-year goal to take the motorcycle manufacturer’s stock to the public market. In case you weren’t sure, this is what a horrible idea looks like.

Cycle World is reporting that Massimo Bordi has  retired from his post as CEO of MV Agusta, as his contract has not been extended by the Italian motorcycle maker. If you recall, Bordi was brought into MV Agusta by the late Claudio Castiglioni, after the Castiglioni family bought MV Agusta from Harley-Davidson.

Making his son Giovanni Castiglioni President of the company, and Bordi the CEO of MV Agusta, many saw Claudio Castiglioni’s choices in management appointments as a way to help ensure that there was a steady hand was on the wheel as the young Giovanni learned the ropes of his father’s business.

So, for many involved with the company in Italy, Bordi’s departure is perhaps less of a surprise than it is a natural and expected evolution at MV Agusta. For many outside of Italy, who are not caught up in the romanticism of the brand, the news could require a bit more than a casual glance though.

Have you ever wondered what the backstory was to building a motorcycle? Perhaps no greater version of that story exists than the rebirth of MV Agusta from the hands of Harley-Davidson, and the building of the company’s supersport model, the MV Agusta F3. Making an appearance on National Geographic‘s “Mega Factories” show, the doors of MV Agusta were opened up to the film crew’s cameras, and a fairly candid look at what is behind the curtain takes place.

The reason for the show’s success is because it is always interesting to see what goes into building our favorite machines, and for motorcycle enthusiasts, the insight given by MV Agusta tells more of the saga that surrounded the development and production of the F3, and the reason for its delays to market.

MV Agusta is returning to its racing heritage next season, as the Italian company has announced that it will be fielding a factory World Supersport effort with the venerable ParkinGO team in 2013. Forging a three-year contract, ParkinGO will race the MV Agusta F3 675 in WSS, with MV Agusta providing technical support on the F3 from the factory in Varese.

Inked on what would have been Claudio Castiglioni’s 65th birthday, the agreement sees the return of MV Agusta to the World Superbike Championship series, and could be a stepping stone for the Italian brand back into the Superbike class at a later time.

A prudent ally, ParkinGO is no stranger to WSS or WSBK, having won the World Supersport title in 2011, and making a strong showing in the 2012 World Superbike season, both with Chaz Davies.

There has to be a bevy of high-fives going on in Milwaukee right now, as Harley-Davidson has finally unloaded MV Agusta from its holdings (we broke the news on the purchase earlier this morning). Harley-Davidson bought MV Agusta for $109 million back in 2008 (most of which was bad debt), and now just a little over two years later is making a tidy profit of…well, nothing. After wiping the books clean, investing in new infrastructre, and getting MV Agusta back on track with an all new model line-up (with a bike on the way), Harley-Davidson saw a paltry sum of €1 cross its desks. Harley-Davidson shares are down 3.5% as of this writing.

Instead Harley-Davidson is calling things even with the Castiglioni family, who would have seen a stock pay-out had the company exchanged hands with another buyer, like TPG for instance. The Castiglioni’s stock was worth somewhere between €20-€30 million, and now with 100% ownership, the Italians are free to once again run MV Agusta into the ground, just like they did leading up to 2008.

Harley-Davidson & MV Agusta press releases are after the jump. One interesting point of note that taking the helm of MV Agusta is former Ducati General Manager and Chief Engineer Massimo Bordi. Bordi was once offered the job of CEO at Ducati, but turned it down, and the position was filled by Gabriele del Torchio, Ducati’s current CEO. Bordi’s last item of business at Ducati was trying to sell the Italian brand to Harley-Davidson, which makes for some good irony in today’s announcement.