1955 NSU Sportmax

Lot details
Registration No: N/A
Frame No: 215517RS
Engine No: T.B.A.
cc: 250
MOT Expiry Date: N/A

NSU announced their withdrawal, as a factory entrant, from racing at the end of the 1954 season leaving an apparent void in the 250cc field for the coming season. They did, however, announce the release of a new single cylinder 250cc racer, the Sportmax, that would be made available to privateers for the coming season. The new machine displaced 247cc with engine dimensions of 69mm x 66mm which, with a compression ratio of 9.8:1 resulted in a power output of 28bhp at 9,000rpm. An Amal GP carburettor metered the fuel and air mixture into the engine, with the geared primary drive to the four speed in unit gearbox. A pressed steel backbone frame equipped with a swinging arm and pressed steel, leading link forks, both controlled by hydraulic shock absorbers constituted the chassis and 210mm drum brakes retarded the machine.
The machine offered is arguably the most historically significant example of the breed having been used by both John Surtees and Mike Hailwood to secure their first Grand Prix results.
It was purchased by John Surtees in 1955, using the machine to win races at Crystal Palace and Silverstone in addition to his victory at the Ulster Grand Prix which represented his first World Championship Grand Prix win. It is not clear if he used it during the 1956 season but towards the end of 1957 he sold the machine to Stan Hailwood. Stan employed the well known race technician Bill Lacey to prepare the bike for Mike to race. The NSU and Mike were despatched by Stan, together with experienced racer Dave Chadwick as mentor, to South Africa for the winter to gain experience, a period that saw Mike win every race he contended, securing lap records at every track in the process. On its return to the UK the machine was finished in the distinctive red Ecurie Sportive livery ready for the 1958 season. During the season Mike , aged 18, achieved 34 podium places including 25 wins, gaining his first World Championship points and his first podium finish at the TT in the 1958 250 TT in the process.
Mike used the machine for only a few races during the 1959 season, finishing first or second on every occasion. Its history becomes a little unclear after 1959 prior to it appearing in the shop of the well known rider and dealer Bill Smith. By this time NSU number 17 had been returned to the factory standard black livery. It was purchased by the Essex based collector Roy Jackson during the sixties who reconditioned the machine, retaining it until 1995 when it was sold to the present owner. The new owner commissioned the well known Sportmax specialist, Harold Nuttall, to restore the machine in 1996 during which red paint was clearly visible under the black finish of the frame.
It is presented today resplendent in the Ecurie Sportive livery and accompanied by correspondence from Roy Jackson and a picture of Tommy Robb on the bike at the Isle of Man in 1996. A replacement seat is currently fitted to the machine, although the original unit, which is in good condition, is included with it. This machines historical significance cannot be under estimated, contributing as it did, to two of this countries most celebrated riders early successes and being the only non Honda machine from the early period with proven Mike Hailwood provenance.