2000 Bimota SB8K Ex-Anthony Gobert Racebike
Miles: n/a
Listed Price: £80,000
Auction Date: February 16th, 2025
This ex-Anthony Gobert Bimota SB8K is really the story of two great but inconsistent talents struggling to maintain their relevance and, miraculously, succeeding. For Bimota, it was possibly a last chance to remain relevant in top-level racing. They’d made their name in the early 80s building stiff, lightweight frames and bodywork to house powerful Japanese engines that had previously been surrounded by bendy frames and saddled with inadequate suspension, a formula that saw them earn fame and win racing victories. But the Japanese manufacturers quickly learned from their mistakes and, by the late 80s and early 90s, were building machines that were world-class in terms of both engine performance and handling, making Bimota’s job to build lighter, faster machines powered those same engines that much more difficult. The original Bimota SB8R was really the TL1000R that Suzuki should have built, with a sophisticated beam frame that incorporated lightweight carbon-fiber elements and a conventional rear shock to replace the troublesome rotary unit originally used by Suzuki, although it was unconventionally mounted alongside the engine. Anthony Gobert was a rising star in both World Superbike and MotoGP racing during the 90s until erratic behavior and problems with drug and alcohol abuse derailed his once promising career. Riding the underdog WSBK Bimota SB8K at Phillip Island, he showed the potential of both himself and Bimota, winning the rain-soaked race one, in spite of the fact that his bike was nearly 13mph slower than its rivals during qualifying.
This lot will be auctioned via Iconic Auctioneers, The Iconic Sale at MCN London Motorcycle Show 2025 on Sunday the 16th of February, Excel London, Royal Victoria Dock, London, E16 1XL. , Bimota, founded in 1973 in Rimini in Italy, are famous for creating lightweight race-bred frames around existing engines including Yamaha, Ducati, Kawasaki and Honda amongst others,They ventured into the racing world in 1980 with Jon Ekerold winning the 350cc World Championship on a Yamaha-based machine,This was followed up by Davide Tardozzi winning five races in the inaugural World Superbike Championship in 1988 and finishing third overall,After 12 years of little success, in 2000, the late Anthony Gobert pulled off an amazing race win in the wet at Phillip Island in Australia on the SB8K,This was the last superbike race win for the colourful Gobert and unfortunately he passed away in 2024,This example is the Anthony Gobert Phillip Island race-winning SB8K machine, presented in original and unrestored condition,Privately owned and displayed for the last few years so would require recommissioning before use,Complete with numerous spares as pictured and history file containing a Bimota Classic Parts valuation, a Letter of Authenticity from Bimota and various Bimota period publications,Rare opportunity to buy a genuine Bimota SB8K factory race bike.
Hat tip to my buddy Marc for noticing that this race-winning Bimota SB8K was being offered for sale over in the UK and for suggesting that I share it with our readers. I originally posted it back in 2017, and we featured it again in 2022. I remember being surprised by the seeming lack of interest in the bike by bidders the first time we featured it, and a high bid of $20,000 resulted in a no-sale. That seemed like a real shame, considering Gobert’s famous talent and Bimota’s racing heritage. It’s also a shame that the current listing doesn’t show any images of the bike with its bodywork removed: there are some incredible period racing details beneath the carbon panels. The current seller has high expectations, and the listing on eBay has a price of £80,000, although it is scheduled to be sold at auction next week, so I’m not sure if that’s a reserve price or just meant to drum up interest. In any event, that princely sum equates to about $99,240 USD at the time of writing. Perhaps a change of venue will help the bike find an appreciative owner.
-tad
Dust in the wind