Croz's Kawasaki to be auctioned

In an era when a full fairing and clip-on handlebars were considered essential for a racing motorcycle, the Kawasaki ridden by 'Croz' was a complete departure from the norm. With no fairing and normal handlebars, Crosby's bikes looked more like stripped streeters than race winners, but the Mamoru Moriwaki-tuned 1,100cc Kawasakis did have form, finishing third in the 1978 Suzuka 8-Hours Race.

Crosby contested the British TT F1 Championship in 1979; despite only intending to do the Isle of Man TT that year. In the TT F1 race at Brands Hatch, Crosby finished the race in 2nd place behind Ron Haslam's works Honda, having led for a couple of laps. Crosby's Isle of Man debut was just as astonishing as his first F1 race, the talented New Zealander bringing his Moriwaki Kawasaki home in 4th place in the Formula 1 race at an average speed of 107.39mph. Unfortunately, bad luck struck in the Classic TT, his bike expiring on the mountain with a holed piston. The Mallory Park outing would end in disappointment too, a broken gearbox resulting in a DNF.

Croz raced the bike at Donington Park and Snetterton for two more 2nd places in the TT F1 Championship, followed by another second at the Silverstone round. A third place finish at the Ulster Grand Prix, the second event in the two-round TT Formula 1 World Championship, coupled with his 4th at the TT left him in 3rd place overall in the 1979 World Championship. During the race he had pulled a couple of wheelies to please the crowd, which responded by egging him on to do more. 'The spectators really appreciated my style and the bike,' he recalled.

Brake problems hampered his performance at the next round of the series at Oulton Park, resulting in a 6th place finish, and resurfaced again at Scarborough, despite which Croz still finished 3rd behind Honda-mounted winner Roger Marshall and Mick Grant. With the press and public's interest in him and the Moriwaki continuing unabated, Croz headed for the next round at Cadwell Park on 16th September. The result was another 3rd place, on this occasion behind Mick Grant and Alex George.

After Cadwell Park, Mamoru Moriwaki sold Croz's superbike to ex-racer and successful motorcycle dealer, Gordon Pantall. The engine and frame were briefly separated, before the bike was put on display in Pantall's shop until 1987. The Moriwaki Kawasaki then remained ins torage for almost two decades before Pantall decided to restore the disassembled bike in 2006. The bike was finished in time for the TT Centenary in 2007, emerging in the livery and race numbers it wore when Crosby last rode it back in '79. Gordon Pantall rode the Moriwaki on the 2007 TT Lap of honour, and the following year Graeme Crosby rode it at Donington Park for the circuit's 30th Anniversary celebrations.

Presented in perfect working order and excellent cosmetic condition, the ex-Crosby Moriwaki Kawasaki represents a possibly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire one of the most spectacular and fondly remembered racing motorcycles of modern times. Bonhams estimate this bike will sell in the _30,000 - 36,000 range.

Bonhams' Collectors' Motorcycles and Related Memorabilia auction, aka the 'Autumn Stafford Sale' is being held in conjunction with the Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show, Stafford, on October 16, 2011.