Mondial withdrew form racing in 1957 and it was not until 1961 that they returned to the tracks with Francesco Villa in the saddle. At the time Villa was working in Mondials development department and had succeeded in persuading Earl Boselli that the return to the tracks could be successful. Victory in the 1961,'62 and '63 senior Italian Championships vindicated Earl Bosellis and Villa's decision and prompted the development of a new generation of 125cc and 250cc two stroke racers developed by Francesco Villa with input from Peter Durr and influenced by the successful MZ designs featuring disc valves.
Ready for the 1964 season the new bikes were ridden by Francesco and Walter Villa and Giuseppe Mandolini. Equipped with a horizontal cylinder that was liquid cooled and an air cooled cylinder head the new 125 had a 54 x 54 mm bore and stroke developing 24 bhp at 11,000rpm. An eight speed gearbox and 80kg weight helped it to make the best use of the power available and the rider to deal with the narrow power band. Successes at Imola,Ceseatico and Milano Marittima followed although it could not match the best from Japan at Monza. Development continued for the 1965 season with a new vertical cylinder aircooled engine being used by the three riders from the previous year to secure the first three places in the Italian Championship. For 1966 a new twin cylinder machine was prepared and raced in the 125 class, however that season Francesco Villa left to build his own 125 racer and for 1967 and 1968 Walter reverted to a development of the horizontal single cylinder machine, winning the Italian Championships for both years.
The machine offered is one of four built for the 1964 season featuring the horizontal single cylinder engine. It is offered in excellent condition complete with a fairing.
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