The motorcycle Valentino Rossi rode to his first-ever Grand Prix victory in his rookie season is up for auction at RM Sotheby’s, with bidding closing today at 2 p.m. EDT. This is a no-reserve auction. Sotheby’s expects the 1996 Aprilia RS125R to sell for at least €100,000.

The bike, chassis number 1291195, carried a then-17-year-old Rossi to victory at the Czech Republic Grand Prix on August 18, 1996, at the Brno Circuit. It was the first of 115 Grand Prix wins that Rossi accumulated over a 25-year career.

Rossi debuted on the same machine at the 1996 Malaysian Grand Prix on March 31, making it his first Grand Prix motorcycle in every sense. He rode it in all 15 races of the 1996 season for team Scuderia AGV Aprilia, wearing his now-famous race number 46.

RM Sotheby’s says the engine currently fitted to the bike is confirmed by factory team sheets to be the same unit that powered Rossi’s win at Brno. A note from Aprilia team manager Mauro Noccioli, written in the immediate aftermath of that race, is also included with the sale.

The bike was sold by the Aprilia racing team to a private owner in Italy in January 1997. It was acquired by the current consignor in February 2013, and has remained in storage since. A full chain of ownership documentation is included, along with factory team entry sheets verifying each of the bike’s 15 race appearances that season.

The motorcycle retains its original 1996 race livery from its entire season with Scuderia AGV Aprilia.

The auction for Valentino Rossi’s 1996 Aprilia RS125R is being conducted through RM Sotheby’s online Sealed May sale, Lot 1, in which bids are submitted privately rather than in an open format. Bidding opened on May 13, and time is running out to bid on this historic racing motorcycle.

Valentino Rossi’s 1996 Aprilia RS125R Photo Gallery