HISTORIC RACER’S CLASSIC COLLECTION FOR SALE
Ford Escort MkIs, Peugeot 205 and Gilbern racer all up for grabs
Racing mechanic and historic racer Mike Bell’s nine-car collection of classics will be up for sale at Classic Car Auctions’ 12 December live online auction.
Mike died at the age of 70 in June following a battle with cancer, cutting short a late blooming racing career that saw him become a well-known driver in historic motor sport, driving both his own cars and others. He had previously built racing cars from Peugeot 205s to Ford Escorts, including a five-year stint at Mitsubishi’s championship-winning Ralliart Team.
Friend and fellow historic racer, James Paterson, said: ‘Mike lived and breathed motor cars. As well as being a meticulous preparer he was a very good pedaller who had the ability to get on the pace quickly.’
His collection of nine classic cars is now heading to auction, including the ‘Lairy Canary’ Ford Escort RS1600, a race-prepped Morgan Plus 4 and a Gilbern 1800 GT club racer. Also in the collection is a partially disassembled MTX 2-01 Spyder B5, a BMW-powered sports prototype racer that is one of only three known to have been built by Czech company, Metalex.
Classic Car Auctions’ sales manager, Gary Dunne, told Classic Car Weekly: ‘We are honoured to offer this unique collection of cars from the late Mike Bell. The personal collection is offered without reserve and features both race and road cars, as well as a motorbike and trailer.’
‘ The collection is offered directly from Mike’s family and we are sure that it will be of great interest to so many as he is sorely missed by the historic racing community.’
] classiccarauctions.co.uk