500 Rondine Circuito

In 1936 Gilera acquired a project for a racing bike from the C.N.A., together with six ready units. Giuseppe Gilera wanted in fact to renew the company’s Grand Prix participation, and the bike created by the C.N.A. had all the prerequisites for being a success on the track. The Rondine (swallow), a supercharged 500 four cylinder with a car-derived engine, had the final touches put on it at the Arcore factory's racing division by Piero Taruffi, who had supervised the project at the Rome-based company where it was born, and by Piero Remor. The original steel frame was abandoned for a structure in tubes, with a Gilera type rear suspension, and the engine was emproved in its crankshafts. The "Gilera cure" already began to show results in September 1937 on the important Monza circuit, with Aldrighetti coming first after an incredible race. The next year Gilera repeated its victory, easily winning the Italian championship, once again with Giordano Aldrighetti riding. In 1939, with the model displayed here, which had been improved upon, the hoped-for European win arrived with Dorino Serafini. The Rondine that was European champion in 1939 featured a half-moon shaped fairing on the rear mudguard for the first time, used as an oil vapour recovery chamber. The Rondine's victorious career was interrupted in 1940 with the start of World War II.