Paton PG500RC 
| Make Model | PG500RC | | Year | 2001 | | Engine | 4 Cylinder, 2 stroke V-70° | | Capacity | 498.4 cc / 30.4 cub in | | Bore and Stroke | 54 x 54.4 mm | | Compression | 15:1 | | Carburetor | 4 x Keihin 36 mm | | Cooling | Liquid cooled | | Ignition | Digital CDI with Bike Walbro 400 battery | | Starting | Push | | Clutch | Dry, multiplate | | Max Power | 140 kW / 190 hp @ 12100 rpm | | Max Torque | 110 Nm / 11.2 kgf-m / 81.1 ft.lb @ 11800 rpm | | Transmission | 6 Speed, constant mesch | | Final Drive | Chain | | Frame | Paton Cagiva V594 material, double angled beam aluminium | | Wheelbase | 1400 mm / 55.1 in | | Front Suspension | ?hlins upside-down, 42 mm fully adjustable | | Rear Suspension | ?hlins fully adjustable | | Front Wheel | 3.5 x 17" alloy rim | | Rear Wheel | 6.0 x 17" alloy rim | | Front Brakes | 320 mm Double disc, carbon, 4-piston Brembo caliper | | Rear Brakes | 220 mm Single disc with 2-piston Brembo caliper, stainless steel | | Dry Weight | 135 kg / 298 lbs | | Colours | Racing green | | Sources | Wikipedia, Crash.net, 2001 | 
The decision, made as expected last Friday and apparently on the grounds of non-competitiveness in the 500cc class, means the small Italian outfit founded in 1958 will not play a part in the 2001 MotoGP World Championship.
Giuseppe Pattoni's team made its first steps in motorcycle competition with a young Mike Hailwood in the saddle of modified 125 and 175cc machines, gaining a place at the Tourist Trophy, before Paton stepped up its competition activity in the 1960's with the development of their 350 and 500cc machines.
A fourth place in 1966 Nations Championship and a second and third place the year after in the same competition, helped bring the Paton name into the international arena, and the team narrowly missed out on their first GP win in Spain, with Angelo Bergamonti at the helm, when the bike suffered mechanical failure.
The teams 350 and 500cc machines brought in Paton's golden period, and helped establish Pattoni as one of the best engineers in the business, as the team battled against the untouchable Giacome Agostini on the MV Augusta.
The 70's saw Pattoni's son Robert join the team, as they made the switch to a two-stroke configuration, in order to challenge the emerging Japanese manufacturers with their seemingly endless budgets.
In 1997 IRTA dropped a bombshell when they judged the team not fast enough to participate in the World Championship1997 – ending the teams record of competing in every 500cc Grand Prix from 1967.
Despite the death of his father in 1999, Roberto continued to develop the teams racing motorbikes, but the team would score only one point in the 2000 World Championship, as a wildcard entry, when Paolo Tessari finished fifteenth at the Sachsenring on the teams PG500R machine. 
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