Remarkable Racing Machines Featured In The Two-day Autumn Stafford SaleCatalogue now live for the highly anticipated Autumn Stafford Sale offering over 480 lots 

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London – Bonhams|Cars offers a selection of momentous racing machines as part of the two-day Autumn Stafford Sale at The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show over two days from 14-15 October. The fresh to market machines come with World Championship pedigree and impeccable provenance. The premier European collectors’ motorcycle auction, the Autumn Stafford Sale will offer over 480 lots of veteran, vintage, classic, and emerging collectors’ motorcycles.   

Race machines headlining the sale include Kork Billington’s 1979/1980 Kawasaki KR250 Racing Motorcycle, estimated at £80,000-100,000, which won the 1979 World Championship and is offered directly by former World Champion Kork. The trophies from the following five Grand Prix wins will also be included in the sale of the machine: Spanish GP at Jarama 18/5/80, French GP at Paul Ricard 25/5/80, German GP at the Nürburgring 24/8/80, British GP at Silverstone 10/8/80, Finnish GP at Imatra 27/7/80. The ex-Gregg Hansford 1971 Kawasaki 500cc H1RA Racing Motorcycle, estimated at £40,000-50,000, was the 1973 Australian 500cc and Unlimited Championship-winning machine and is also currently owned by Ballington.  

Remarkable Racing Machines Featured In The Two-day Autumn Stafford SaleAnother headline is the Ex-works, Troy Bayliss 2003 Ducati 990cc GP3 Grand Prix, estimated at £270,000-300,000. The very first Ducati MotoGP model, the Ducati represented the manufacturer’s arrival at Grand Prix racing’s premier 500cc class after around a 30-year absence. Also known as the ‘Desmosedici’, it features a V4 engine that was widely recognized as the most powerful on the grid. It is one of only twelve GP3 GP bikes believed to still exist today, which makes this racing machine a possibly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a piece of Ducati and MotoGP history. 

An additional exciting lot in this category is the Ex-works, Anthony Gobert, 2000 Bimota SB8K World Superbike Championship, estimated at £115,000-135,000. This represents Bimota’s only race-winner, achieving victory at the Phillip Island round World Superbike Championship event in 2000. Ridden by Anthony Gobert, racing’s ‘bad boy’ and fan favorite, the machine has been untouched since the race and is one of only two Bimota SB8K factory bikes ever made.  

These offerings will join the 80 without reserve motorcycles from the Anthony R. East Collection from the world-famous Isle of Man Museum. They have been on display within the beautiful grounds of The Old Vicarage at Kirk Michael on the TT course, and were lovingly brought together by the late Tony East, who was a regular presence at Stafford Classic Bike Shows. Highlights include: 1938 Triumph Speed Twin, estimated at £12,000-17,000, 1937 Triumph Tiger 90, estimated at £10,000-14,000, 1938 Triumph Tiger 80, estimated at £7,000-10,000, and 1951 Triumph Speed Twin, estimated at £7,000-10,000. 

Additional highlights include:   

1975 Ducati 750 SS, estimated at £45,000-60,000   

Classic Modern Era machines:  

  • 1975 Ducati 750 SS, estimated at £45,000-60,000
  • 2008 Ducati 990cc Desmosedici RR ‘Team Version’, estimated at £40,000-45,000
  • 1999 Yamaha 749cc YZF-R7 OW-02, estimated at £35,000-45,000

c.1910 FN 498cc Four, The John Hobbs Collection, estimated at £20,000-26,000   

Pioneer Period (pre-1914) include: 

  • c.1910 FN 498cc Four, The John Hobbs Collection, estimated at £20,000-26,000
  • c.1904 Bransom & Kent 300cc, The John Hobbs Collection, estimated at £10,000-14,000
  • c.1903 G&W ‘Minerva’ Project, The John Hobbs Collection, estimated at £4,000-6,000 

1938 Brough Superior 982cc SS80 Project, estimated at £40,000-45,000   

Vintage and 1930s highlights include:  

  • 1938 Brough Superior 982cc SS80 Project, estimated at £40,000-45,000
  • 1922/1923 P&M 600cc Motorcycle Combination, estimated at £16,000-20,000
  • 1926 Norton 490cc Model 16H, estimated at £12,000-16,000 

From 3 – 13 November, Bonhams|Cars will hold a major online sale comprising the highlight anticipated Forshaw Speedway Race Bib Collection. The collection represents decades of speedway history, and the sale follows the successful 2022 auction of 31 Speedway Motorcycles from the collection. The race bibs in the collection were amassed by the late enthusiast and engineer Richard Forshaw, whose father, Captain Ivan Forshaw, was a former motorcycle racer before founding the family’s respected Aston Martin specialist business in Dorset. 

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