British manufacturer Norton has announced the appointment of Brian Gillen to the position of Chief Technical Officer (CTO).
Gillen joins Norton after spending more than 15 years at Schiranna, as Research and Development Director for MV Agusta. Prior to that, he worked at electronics specialist Magneti Marelli, which currently supplies ECU hardware and software to all MotoGP teams, having done so since 2016.
Interestingly, the press release Norton issued announcing Gillen’s appointment lists his areas of expertise as “R&D leadership, engine and vehicle design and World Championship motorcycle racing”.
Although Norton’s history in motorcycle racing is famous, the days of Grand Prix victories are behind them. Their most recent racing effort, of course, was under their previous ownership in road racing with their V4SV supersport bike, which became a well-known effort for having very little success, despite the talent of riders like Josh Brookes and John McGuinness. Now, under the umbrella of Indian company TVS Motor, it’s suddenly clear that Norton could return to racing on short circuits. Time will tell, but it seems that if a new racing program is on the way, it will be Gillen who leads it.
Speaking about his appointment at Norton, Brian Gillen said: “As a long-time enthusiast of the iconic Norton brand, it’s an incredibly exciting time to be joining the company’s leadership team. I’m looking forward to working with the talented team of engineers and developing top-of-the-range motorcycles, with quality at the forefront of everything we do.”