In 1972 Read accepted an offer to ride for the MV Agusta factory racing team in the 350 World Championship. In 1973, riding in both the 350 and 500 classes, he took the 500cc title, the first World Championship won using Lockheed disc brakes. He successfully defended his crown in 1974 in what would be the last world championship for the legendary Italian marque. It would also be the last time a four-stroke machine would win a title until the advent of the MotoGP class in 2002.