Giacomo Agostini 1967 he battled Hailwood in one of the most dramatic seasons in Grand Prix history. Each rider had 5 victories before the championship was decided in Agostini's favor at the last race of the season. Agostini dropped a bombshell on the Grand Prix world when he announced he would never again race at the Isle of Man TT, after the death of his close friend, Gilberto Parlotti during the 1972 TT. He considered the 37 mile circuit unsafe for world championship competition. At the time, the TT was the most prestigious race on the motorcycling calendar. Other top riders joined
Giacomo Agostini the 500cc title seven years in succession for the Italian factory. He would also win the 350cc title seven times in succession and won 10 Isle of Man TTs. At the time, the Isle of Man TT and the Ulster Grand Prixs were regularly won by Anglophonic (mostly British) riders; in addition to Agostini's successes at the TT he also won 7 Ulster Grand Prix races- he was the only non-British rider to achieve the same kind of success in these British motorcycle races- which were 2 of the most difficult motorcycle races in the world at the time. In