Motorsport story by Dominic Taylor, Mon, 05 Dec 2005 08:40:01 GMT


LONDON - The Williams Formula One team has announced that they are canceling a scheduled auction of memorabilia that included cars driven by former champions Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill, after a private collector brought out the whole set.

The auction included around 20 F1 cars plus another 150 items that were to go under the hammer at Oxfordshire on December 14. Auctioneers Bonhams said that the unnamed private collector had paid a significant sum to buy the whole lot. The Williams F1 Reserve Collection of Formula One cars has aroused wide interest worldwide after Bonhams had first announced that they were going to be sold to the highest bidder.

Commenting on this private deal, Sir Frank Williams, the team's F1 founder said that he was grateful to Bonhams for securing the deal, "I am delighted with this outcome against the background of interest in other recent Formula One auctions. As much as securing an important sale, I am also thrilled that there is plenty of interest in Williams which has enabled us to sell every last item in the catalogue," he said.

The auction day is now to be an open day and anyone who has a catalogue or is even a racing enthusiast can visit Williams' in-house museum between 10am to 4pm on Tuesday and Wednesday. But admission will be for catalogue holders only, Bonhams said. Meanwhile Bonhams Chairman, Robert Brooks was also elated at having completed the sale.

He said that the company was delighted to have executed the task to Williams' advantage, "We invested enormous effort in judging and directing our promotion for this sale, to maximize the return on every Lot. I am confident we have achieved the best possible result for our client," he said.

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