Jorge Lorenzo Ex-Works Aprilia 250cc GP Motorcycle
The rarity of motorcycles at the Autumn Stafford Sale have always impressed. From hard-to-find Vincent White Shadows to Crockers, serious collectors can find serious machinery at Autumn Stafford Sale.
This year’s offering from the Bonhams Motorcycle Department on October 15 will be no different. One bike is already topping the rarity list for the race-minded collector: the ex-works 2007 Aprilia 250cc Grand Prix bike ridden by that year’s champion Jorge Lorenzo.
The Spaniard, who made his Grand Prix debut on his 15th birthday in 2002, currently has 65 GP wins, and is the fifth-most decorated GP racer in history.
Lorenzo, a five-time GP Champion now riding for Ducati Team in MotoGP, earned a ride with the Fortuna-sponsored team in 2005, finishing fourth overall after securing four pole positions.
Lorenzo remained with Fortuna until the end of the 2007 season, by which time the Spanish team had gained full factory support from Aprilia who supplied the machine offered by Bonhams during the Autumn Stafford Sale.
The tightly tuned bike gave Lorenzo the edge he needed, and he romped home to his second World Championship, with an astonishing 9 wins from 17 starts.
The legions of Grand Prix racing fans were devastated only a few years later when the 250 category was axed and replaced by the production-based Moto2. This decision has made these powerful, last-of-the-line thoroughbreds all the more desirable, especially when combined with World Championship wins at the hands of one of the sport’s most successful young riders, Bonhams reports.
“Jorge Lorenzo’s career is already one that has irrevocably altered the motorcycle racing landscape,” says Andy Barrett, Bonhams Motorcycle Specialist.
“Since his debut at the age of 15, he has gone from strength to strength, and his duels with former team mate Valentino are legendary have become legendary in the sport. To be offering one of his World Championship-winning machines is truly spectacular, and we are thrilled to be offering this unique piece of racing history.”
Bonhams says the Jorge Lorenzo ex-works Aprilia is strikingly original, and has remained unchanged and unridden since the end of the 2007 season. World title-winning machines are always a rare treat at auction, but one ridden to victory by such a charismatic and acclaimed champion is truly unique.
For additional information, visit Bonhams Autumn Stafford Sale.
