Big bucks at Bonhams
The annual Spring Sale at the Stafford Show in UK saw an astounding £163,900 (AU$273,600) paid for a 1949 HRD Series C White Shadow that had not seen the light of day for 40 years – almost triple its pre-auction estimate. Another machine to change hands for well over its expected price was the exworks Velocette ridden to back-to-back wins in the 1948 and 1949 Junior TTs by 1949 World Champion Freddie Frith, which brought £135,900 (AU$226,500). An unused and still-in-the-crate 1998 MV Agusta F4 750cc ‘Serie Oro’ brought £36,800 (AU$61,330), a 1926 Brough Superior SS80/100 achieved £126,940 (AU$211,560). A set of Team Avon leathers worn by the late Mike Hailwood at Bathurst in 1978 and at the 1979 Adelaide Three Hour Race fetched £7,250 (AU$12,080) while the Apple Computer leathers worn by Graeme Crosby in the 1983 Castrol Six Hour Race brought £2,750 (AU$4,580) for an Australian collector. All prices include commission and buyers premium. Interest now shifts to Bonhams Autumn Sale at Stafford on October 15, with several interesting collections already consigned.