did the now fit Bonera and Barry Sheene. Read became second behind Sheene in Sweden but dropped out in Finland, the first technical failure for MV that season. As a result, the world title battle was still open at the start of the last GP (Czechoslovakia). Agostini had to make a fuel stop and Read won the race, but Agostini's second place was enough for him to clinch the world title, the first time on a two-stroke machine in the 500cc class. 1976 In 1976, Agostini returned to MV Agusta, as Yamaha officially retired from racing in late 1975; Read, previously No. 1 rider at MV, switched to Suzuki. Agostini did not have a usual factory contract, the MV Agustas were delivered to the "Marlboro-Api Racing Team", but with the entire team of factory engineers support at races. The FIM introduced the new noise limit of 113 dB(A) and the MV was fitted with a redesigned cylinder head and mufflers to meet the limit. The beginning of the season was disappointing for MV and Agostini, and not once did Agostini make it onto the podium. The two-stroke Suzuki were superior in performance and now so stable that Barry Sheene was undisputed champion. The season started so poorly that Agostini used a Suzuki RG 500 after the second race. Only in the last race of the season, on August 29, 1976, at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in Germany, did the MV Agusta appear again, now equipped with lighter pistons and a lighter crankshaft. Agostini won the race with it, in difficult conditions, finishing 52 seconds ahead of second placed Marco Lucchinelli on a Suzuki, after 7 laps. This was the last 500 cc GP race victory by a four-stroke in direct comparison to two-stroke racing engines. Withdrawal from racing After the last race at the Nürburgring, MV Agusta officially retired from motorsport. After 30 years of motorsport, the new majority shareholder did not want to invest more money in the racing department of the financially troubled company. A four-cylinder boxer engine with water cooling mounted longitudinally in the frame was in development, but never progressed beyond a prototype. In 1978 Cagiva unsuccessfully tried to purchase the MV Augusta racers as the basis for their own racing team. References Bibliography 500 Four Grand Prix motorcycles Motorcycles introduced in 1973