1945, the press saw a pre-production model of a light motorcycle with a steel tube rigid frame, a girder fork and 19-inch wheels. The gas tank was marked with large letters M and V. It was called "Vespa 98". However Domenico had had to refuse from the spectacular name Vespa (English: wasp): by that time it was occupied by Piaggio for its Vespa motorscooter. Therefore, in 1946, the motorcycle was put to mass production as MV 98 and in two versions: Economica (the version presented a year earlier) and Turismo (it was distinguished by the presence of a three-speed gearbox and a rear suspension). The Turismo (English: tourist) version proved to be so overwhelmingly popular that before long the Economica (English: economic) version was discontinued. In 1946, about 50 units were produced. 1945–1980: Agusta family period Count Domenico Agusta had a passion for mechanical workings and for motorcycle racing. Much like Enzo Ferrari, the Agusta family produced and sold motorcycles almost exclusively to fund their racing efforts. So soon after the start of production of its first model MV 98, the company launched its own factory racing program. The date of the first MV Agusta race is unknown, but the first victory was delivered by Vicenzo Nincioni in the road race held in La Spezia on October 6, 1946. Just a week later, he took the third place in Valenza, where the first place was also taken by the MV racer Mario Cornalea. On November 3, in Monza, MV racers Vicenzo Ninconi, Mario Cornalea and Mario Paleari occupied the entire podium for the first time in MV racing history. In the end of 1946, a special racing motorcycle was assembled at the factory in Caschina Costa. Its main advantages over the serial model 98 were a telescopic fork and a plunger type rear suspension. The frame remained a simple tubular (closed type) and was shortened by 50 mm to improve the handling. The handle bar was narrowed and the rearsets were moved back to make a sportier riding position. The two-stroke engine was improved by enlarging the cylinders ports, raising the compression ratio and installing a new 20 mm horizontal carburetor. The number of gears was increased from two to three. As a result, the power increased to 5 hp at 5,400 rpm, and the maximum speed increased to 95 km/h. Soon almost all of these improvements were also applied