American Team Brings Home Bronze And Silver From The 2005 Isle of Man TT Aboard An MV Agusta F4-1000

Hailwood… Agostini… and now Montano! Munroe Motors of San Francisco and rider Tom Montano completed a successful week of TT racing at the famous Isle of Man 37.7 mile road circuit on a nearly stock 2005 MV Agusta F4-1000.

Tom and the team’s 17th place result in Superbike on Monday, June 6th was a heralding display of his and the MV Agusta’s potential. By finishing within 10% of the top finisher’s overall time, Tom captured a Bronze Replica aboard the MV Agusta. Montano’s week with the F4-1000 gave the Munroe Motors’ team invaluable experience with the stunning new bike. This time also allowed them to prepare for the final and premier race of the week, the Senior TT. In the 6-lap “Senior” TT main event on Friday, June 10th, the 2001 AMA Pro-Thunder champion finished in 13th place overall with an average speed of 118.43 mph. Tom not only won a rare and coveted Silver Replica by finishing within 5% of the winning time, but also set the record for the fastest MV Agusta to ever compete in the historic series. The virtually stock MV Agusta 1000 proved to be a formidable competitor against the Superbike and Superstock-spec Japanese machines that littered the starting grids.

The ’05 1000cc MV Agusta was sprung from its crate in early April at Munroe Motors of San Francisco. For break-in, Montano competed once with the new bike, finishing 12th in the AFM Formula Pacific race on May 1st at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA. Shortly thereafter, the bike had to be packed up and shipped to the Isle of Man, giving the Munroe Motors’ team precious little time to prepare for the epic week of road racing. The MV Agusta performed superbly throughout the hard week of practice and some 600 ultra-high speed racing miles! Competition upgrades to the stock machine include Fast by Ferracci slip-on mufflers and chip - with the catalytic converter masterfully removed from the mid-pipe by Dennis Etcheverry at Norman Racing, fiberglass race bodywork painted by Cycle Finish, a Graves front fairing bracket, a Brembo GP front brake master cylinder and lightweight forged aluminum wheels were installed for the Superbike spec events. The motor remained untouched from the factory except for the installation of MV Agusta’s reverse pattern shift drum.

It is Munroe Motors’ honor and Thomas Montano’s achievement to have raced the fastest MV Agusta in the history of the Isle of Man TT races - and to have won Silver and Bronze Replicas in doing so. The accomplishment is especially gratifying because Giacomo Agostini was on hand to take one of his championship winning MV Agusta 750 machines from the ‘70s around the road course for the Lap of Honor and in Classic Parade. This legendary and supremely competitive motorcycle brand has made a forceful movement back into road racing in 2005 with Thomas Montano and Munroe Motors.

For more information about the Isle of Man TT race, visit: http://www.iomtt.com

For more information about Munroe Motors of San Francisco, visit: http://www.munroemotors.com

For more information about the team, please contact:
Jamie Karrick, Matt Prentiss or Nick Hayman
Munroe Motors of San Francisco
415-626-3496
Email: mmgeneral@hotmail.com