Lauda's 1976 German GP helmet
Discussion
Spotted an item in the current Motor Sport Magazine about the helmet Lauda was wearing in the famous crash at the Nurburgring in 1976 being up for auction in the States with an estimate of £40-50k.
Seemed conservative I thought and went to the Bonhams site to check what it had actually made only to discover it had been withdrawn from the sale. Intrigued, I did a little search and found this:
https://agvsport.com/blog/mystery-of-niki-lauda-ag...
Seemed conservative I thought and went to the Bonhams site to check what it had actually made only to discover it had been withdrawn from the sale. Intrigued, I did a little search and found this:
https://agvsport.com/blog/mystery-of-niki-lauda-ag...
clive_candy said:
Spotted an item in the current Motor Sport Magazine about the helmet Lauda was wearing in the famous crash at the Nurburgring in 1976 being up for auction in the States with an estimate of £40-50k.
Seemed conservative I thought and went to the Bonhams site to check what it had actually made only to discover it had been withdrawn from the sale. Intrigued, I did a little search and found this:
https://agvsport.com/blog/mystery-of-niki-lauda-ag...
Now that was an interesting read, thanks for sharingSeemed conservative I thought and went to the Bonhams site to check what it had actually made only to discover it had been withdrawn from the sale. Intrigued, I did a little search and found this:
https://agvsport.com/blog/mystery-of-niki-lauda-ag...
That stuff about helmet 'roll-off' reminds me of a meeting I once attended at Buckmore Park with my kids when they were doing Cadets.
The scrutineer decided to have a close look at all the helmets the Cadets were wearing, as it was suspected that some dads were buying helmets that were too large, on the assumption that the kids would 'grow into them'. This is one thing with school blazers, but quite another, of course, with crash helmets.
The technique he would employ was to stand the helmeted child in front of him, grab the helmet with two hands under the chin and the rear, and elevate it about a foot into the air, with the struggling kid still inside and kicking out. If he didn't fall out, the helmet passed the test.
The scrutineer decided to have a close look at all the helmets the Cadets were wearing, as it was suspected that some dads were buying helmets that were too large, on the assumption that the kids would 'grow into them'. This is one thing with school blazers, but quite another, of course, with crash helmets.
The technique he would employ was to stand the helmeted child in front of him, grab the helmet with two hands under the chin and the rear, and elevate it about a foot into the air, with the struggling kid still inside and kicking out. If he didn't fall out, the helmet passed the test.
Roofless Toothless said:
That stuff about helmet 'roll-off' reminds me of a meeting I once attended at Buckmore Park with my kids when they were doing Cadets.
The scrutineer decided to have a close look at all the helmets the Cadets were wearing, as it was suspected that some dads were buying helmets that were too large, on the assumption that the kids would 'grow into them'. This is one thing with school blazers, but quite another, of course, with crash helmets.
The technique he would employ was to stand the helmeted child in front of him, grab the helmet with two hands under the chin and the rear, and elevate it about a foot into the air, with the struggling kid still inside and kicking out. If he didn't fall out, the helmet passed the test.
I like it!The scrutineer decided to have a close look at all the helmets the Cadets were wearing, as it was suspected that some dads were buying helmets that were too large, on the assumption that the kids would 'grow into them'. This is one thing with school blazers, but quite another, of course, with crash helmets.
The technique he would employ was to stand the helmeted child in front of him, grab the helmet with two hands under the chin and the rear, and elevate it about a foot into the air, with the struggling kid still inside and kicking out. If he didn't fall out, the helmet passed the test.
That’s a really interesting (and intriguing) story. What’s not said is exactly where it is now, and in whose possession. Does Bonhams still have custody of it, or did they return it to the ‘seller’ after they pulled the auction?
The article’s hypothesis, that it changed hands several times privately and secretly among Japanese collectors, before landing with someone who passed away without telling their family the nature of the artifact, is definitely plausible; but one would have expected a reputable auction house to have carried out some due diligence and provenance authentication before accepting it for sale.
If the family of the deceased offered it for sale unknowingly, it’s likely to end up back with AVG, who might wish to propose a charitable donation themselves in exchange for its safe return to Italy.
I also suspect the true value at auction would be considerably higher than the estimate given, it’s an astonishing piece of memorabilia, can think of very little F1-related other than cars that might sell for more.
Senna’s helmet was destroyed by Bell Helmets at the request of his family, specifically to avoid the possibility of it ending up at a future auction. https://us.motorsport.com/f1/news/senna-s-helmet-f...
The article’s hypothesis, that it changed hands several times privately and secretly among Japanese collectors, before landing with someone who passed away without telling their family the nature of the artifact, is definitely plausible; but one would have expected a reputable auction house to have carried out some due diligence and provenance authentication before accepting it for sale.
If the family of the deceased offered it for sale unknowingly, it’s likely to end up back with AVG, who might wish to propose a charitable donation themselves in exchange for its safe return to Italy.
I also suspect the true value at auction would be considerably higher than the estimate given, it’s an astonishing piece of memorabilia, can think of very little F1-related other than cars that might sell for more.
Senna’s helmet was destroyed by Bell Helmets at the request of his family, specifically to avoid the possibility of it ending up at a future auction. https://us.motorsport.com/f1/news/senna-s-helmet-f...
thegreenhell said:
Sandpit Steve said:
<snip> a reputable auction house <snip>
Is there such a thing?Amazing they didn’t spend five minutes on due diligence though, when someone turned up with one of the most recognisable pieces of memorabilia in motorsport history but no documentation at all (bar possibly a Yakuza bill of sale).
clive_candy said:
Roofless Toothless said:
That stuff about helmet 'roll-off' reminds me of a meeting I once attended at Buckmore Park with my kids when they were doing Cadets.
The scrutineer decided to have a close look at all the helmets the Cadets were wearing, as it was suspected that some dads were buying helmets that were too large, on the assumption that the kids would 'grow into them'. This is one thing with school blazers, but quite another, of course, with crash helmets.
The technique he would employ was to stand the helmeted child in front of him, grab the helmet with two hands under the chin and the rear, and elevate it about a foot into the air, with the struggling kid still inside and kicking out. If he didn't fall out, the helmet passed the test.
I like it!The scrutineer decided to have a close look at all the helmets the Cadets were wearing, as it was suspected that some dads were buying helmets that were too large, on the assumption that the kids would 'grow into them'. This is one thing with school blazers, but quite another, of course, with crash helmets.
The technique he would employ was to stand the helmeted child in front of him, grab the helmet with two hands under the chin and the rear, and elevate it about a foot into the air, with the struggling kid still inside and kicking out. If he didn't fall out, the helmet passed the test.
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