Classic MV Agusta ridden by MotoGP legends sells for near-record £967,000

A 1965 MV Agusta 500cc Grand Prix machine has sold for £967,000, falling just short of the all-time record for a motorcycle auction.

The historic bike, ridden by Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini, and previously owned by fellow motorcycle grand prix legend John Surtees, achieved almost six times its pre-sale estimate.

Hailwood dominated the 1965 500cc season with eight victories, while Agostini and Norton rider Dick Creith shared the remaining wins.

The final price of £967,000 ($1.3 million) came close to the current auction record of $1.32 million, set by a 1915 Cyclone V-Twin Board Track Racer in Las Vegas last year.

The sale also set a new record for an Italian motorcycle at auction.

Also featured at the Bonhams Stafford Sale, held during the International Classic MotorCycle Show, was a 1977 Suzuki RG500 XR14 raced by Barry Sheene.

The bike, ridden by Sheene when he secured his second 500cc world title, sold for £506,000, more than doubling its estimate and setting a new record for a Japanese motorcycle.

A 2015 Honda RC213V-S, a production version of the factory’s MotoGP machine, also exceeded expectations, selling for £186,300.

Meanwhile, an ex-Peter Hickman 2019 BMW S1000RR, ridden to multiple victories including the Isle of Man TT, achieved £88,550.

Ben Walker, International Department Director of Bonhams Collectors’ Motorcycles, described the auction as “a landmark event in the bike community, that will be remembered by those who attended for years to come.

“We established two new world records, for the price of an Italian and Japanese machine sold at auction and got very close to the outright world record for the auction sale price of a motorcycle.”