Fancy a rare piece of motorcycle history? Well, there’s a rarity going up for grabs soon.
This 1996 Aprilia RS125R is one of Sotheby’s ‘Sealed May’ collection.
According to their bookies, it’s expected to fetch between £85,000 and £130,000.
There’s no reserve and bidding closes at as of 7pm on Wednesday the 20th of May.
In case you forgot, Mr Rossi took 9 world championships. This bike took him to his very first one.
This bike was Rossi’s first GP racing machine.
It took him to his first-ever Grand Prix race at the Shah Alam Circuit in Malaysia. The Aprilia race bike that launched Rossi’s career in GP racing is the very same motorcycle offered here, frame number 1291195.
This bike also took him to his very first race victory at the Brno track in the 1996 Czech Grand Prix.
According to Sotheby’s, the bike was sold off by the Aprilia team to a private owner in Rome in January of 1997. Subsequent owners have kept the bike in storage.
The Auction listing reads as follows:
Offered Without Reserve:
- Valentino Rossi’s first-ever Grand Prix motorcycle; also the Italian’s first race-winning bike on the GP stage
- The Aprilia was ridden by Rossi to 1st place in the 125-cc class at the 1996 Czech Republic Grand Prix as the maiden chequered flag of his 115 Grand Prix victories
- Rossi would go on to become the most successful bike racer in the MotoGP era
- Aprilia RS125R presented in the preserved livery it wore for Scuderia AGV Aprilia for every race in the 1996 season; adorned with Rossi’s iconic race number “46”
- Highly tuned 125-cc engine – the very unit which took Rossi to his first Grand Prix victory – harks back to a golden era of two-stroke junior Grand Prix racing
- Sold by the Aprilia racing team to a private owner in January 1997 and retained by the consigning owner since February 2013; documented ownership chain (on file)
- Accompanied by fascinating factory team sheets that verify each of this bike’s race entries to the 1996 season
Additional details like ‘Rossi’ engraved into the paddock stand, and a hand-written ‘46’ tucked inside the bodywork are testimony to just how historic this bike is.
As of today, the 14th of May, you have 6 days to get your bids in.
Head to RM Sotheby’s website before time runs out.
