of the two-stroke Yamaha twins had greatly impressed Count Agusta who, at the end of the 1967 season, needed to find a counter to the predictable supremacy of Japanese motorcycles in the years to come. Discarding the idea of a two-stroke engine, considered unsuitable for the prestige of the brand, the best solution seemed to him to further split the 4-stroke engine, doubling the number of cylinders the "350 3C", following the example of the fearsome Honda RC174 with which Mike Hailwood had won the 350 class in the 1967 World Championship. Development Taking advantage of the past experience of the "350 six cylinder", abandoned in the previous decade, the MV technicians quickly prepared a prototype, following the same six-cylinder DOHC, light alloy format, but with a new 4-valve head. The engine now had a 46 mm bore and a 35 mm stroke. To overcome the previous problems due to overheating of the lubricant, a radiator was provided for cooling the oil. The chassis included the best components from specialists, such as the Borrani wheel rims, Ceriani brakes and suspension. Equipped with the 7-speed gearbox and six Dell'Orto SS16 carburettors, the prototype had a dry weight of 149 kg and developed a power of 75 bhp @ 16.000 rpm, giving a top speed of . Mike Hailwood rode this bike in 1968 at Monza in testing. The bike was tested in the early months of 1969 by Giacomo Agostini at Modena, who rejected it due to the heavy weight, the difficulty in tuning and, above all, the increased width. Despite the great power, the greater weight and frontal area entailed a noticeable decrease in manoeuvrability and cornering; qualities on which the Brescia-born champion based his driving style. Agostini's rejection of the prototype and refusal to participate in its development gave the company management serious problem. In other circumstances, as had previously happened, any rider who had refused to follow the instructions of the MV team would have been replaced immediately, but Agostini now drew the favour and admiration of a good part of the sports audience from all over Europe and moreover, he had won six world titles with the MV, some of which were taken from Mike Hailwood and his Hondas. Not being able to fire him and, at the same time, not wanting to abandon the project, the decision was taken to recruit a second driver with good