Born in 1914 in Voghera, Italy, where he passed away in 1981, Bandirola won the Italian Championship title in 1958 with the MV Four-Cylinder. He clinched the victory following a 20-year career that started in 1937 with Gilera and that continued at MV for eight years, during which time he became the crowds' favourite owing to his impulsive nature and impetuous style. His squeezing the motorcycle up to the last drop and his total rejection of all forms of strategy or tactics kept him away from the podium. What he liked best was riding on difficult, winding tracks such as Barcelona or Ospedaletti. His duel in Spain with team-mate Surtees, who certainly didn't expect such dogged resistance from aged Bandirola, is memorable. As was to be expected, he was defeated only by his engine failure.
