The history of racing is filled with stories of great rivalries, but one of the most enduring is the all-out battle between Gilera and MV Agusta.

In The Gilera-MV Agusta Rivalry 1950-1966, authors Raymond Ainscoe and Gianni Perrone detail the on and off-track story of this legendary contest at its very peak.

The book features a wealth of rarely-seen photographs, profiles of some of the great names of the period – like Geoff Duke, Les Graham and John Surtees - and a detailed, well-researched and thoroughly readable account of a great rivalry.

We relive some of the great showdowns from Grand Prix racing and the Isle of Man TT as we explore one of the great motorcycle racing rivalries.

The foreword is written by Alfredo Milani, a leading works Gilera rider during this epic era.

Raymond Ainscoe has been writing about classic racing for almost three decades, his work appearing in many magazines and books. In addition he wrote the script for the Great Italian GP Racers programme, produced by Duke. As well as writing about classic racing machines, Raymond regularly joins parades and races for classic bike, usually on a Gilera.

Gianni Perrone raced successfully for more than 20 years, before becoming a collector of classic machines, including the four cylinder 125cc Ducati and the ex-Gilera Argentina 500cc “quattro”. He has contributed articles to numerous classic bike magazines and remains an active participant in revival meetings across Europe.