A rare timepiece given to Mike Hailwood by gifted watchmaker and pioneer entrepreneur Jack Heuer will feature in the Bonhams auction at the Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show at Stafford later this month.
Regarded as one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, “Mike The
Bike” Hailwood later went on to compete in Formula One and other classes of car
racing, making him one of a very select few men who competed at Grand Prix
level in both motorcycle and car racing.
It was during his time competing in Formula One that he was presented
with the 18k gold Carrera with “To Mike
Hailwood for a successful 1972 Jack Heuer” engravedon the case’s back.
Having only recently been added to the auction, this ‘timely’ late
addition was presented to Hailwood in 1973, and was likely to have been partly
in thanks for his role in pulling Clay Regazzoni from his burning Formula One
car.
Jack Heuer said about the 18k gold Carrera
1158, which was his favourite model: “These
watches have a deep emotional meaning for me, as we have lost drivers to racing
accidents.”
A similar 18k gold Carrera 1158 timepiece sold for around £87,000 at a
previous auction.
Other stand-out lots in the Bonhams auction include a 680 Brough
Superior, and a 1949 Series C HRD-badged Girdraulic fork sporting Vincent
Rapide expected to prompt a lot of interest. Two Nortons will also feature – a
flat tank model 18 and an early, bolt-up frame Featherbed frame Manx which will
be both admired and desired. The auction takes place over the Saturday and Sunday
of the event, attracting bidders from across the globe.
Outside of the auction hall, the showground will also be home to excellent club stands, exciting live action including the wall of death and Classic Racer GP Paddock, classic competition machines and special guest stars from iconic eras of motorcycling.
Throughout the weekend, the event will feature more than 900 traders, dealers and autojumble stands offering a wealth of parts and spares for every project.
For October 2019, guests of honour are 10-times world sidecar champion
Steve Webster MBE plus the ‘Genius Engineer’ and Classic Motorcycle Mechanics contributor, Allen Millyard, who will
both be interviewed by compere Steve Plater.
The 26th Carole Nash International Classic Motorcycle Show will take place on October 19-20. To find out more about the show, and to save money by buying your advance tickets, visit: www.staffordclassicbikeshows.com/
