Bonhams offers classic racing machines at Aug. 14-16 auction

If you’re a fan of 1950s and 1960s road racing motorcycles, take a look at the rare offerings up for bid at the Bonhams auction Aug. 14-16 at the Stafford County Showground at Bicester Heritage in England.

Examples include a restored 1959 Benelli 250 Bialbero GP Mono, one of only four built. It was purchased from world grand prix road racing champion John Surtees in the 1980s. Also featured is a 1954 Mondial 175 Bialbero GP that is an ex-factory road racing machine, and a 1959 Mondial Paton 250 Gran Premio that  was built by Giuseppe Pattoni, who produced “over the counter” racers with Mondial engines.

The bikes are just three of the 200 road and road racing motorcycles from the Morbidelli Motorcycle Museum in Pesaro, Italy, that will be sold at the Bonhams auction. The late Giancarlo Morbidelli founded the museum and built the bike collection.

“We are very proud to have been entrusted with the sale of this stunning collection, carefully put together over 40 years by Giancarlo Morbidelli, which is a fitting tribute to this master of the motorcycling world,” said Ben Walker, international department director for Bonhams Collectors’ Motorcycles. “Giancarlo’s passion for machines is evident in his Grand Prix involvement. His restorations were exceptional, he was a stickler for detail, and a man of invention.”

Bonhams believes the most significant machine in the collection is a 1964 Ducati 125cc four-cylinder grand prix racebike created by the company’s chief engineer, Fabio Taglioni. This mythical bike, Bonhams said, “disappeared for some years before its engine was found in the Technical Museum in Riga, Latvia, while its chassis reappeared in Yugoslavia, now Croatia.” Giancarlo Morbidelli rebuilt the machine.

To see the collection of rare bikes, go to bonhams.com/auctions/26111/#/aa1=1&MR1_length=12&w1=list&aj1=value_desc&m1=1.