NSU 125cc MV Agusta 125cc works Copeta Muller Sandford 1954 Dutch TT GP photo

Description

A superb and rare photo, made from the original negative, taken during the
1954
125cc Grand Prix of the Netherlands
, a.k.a. the
Dutch T.T.
, which was ridden on
July 10, 1954
.
On this great scenic Dutch TT Assen image we see a fierce fight going on in the 125cc race. We see Italian
Angelo Copeta
on a
MV Agusta
125cc Bialbero worksracer (nr.
7
) , German
Hermann Paul Muller
on the
N.S.U.
125cc works racer (nr.
2
) and Englishman
Cecil Sandford
on a
MV Agusta
125cc Bialbero worksracer (nr.
10
).
Hermann Paul Muller
eventually would finish the race in
2ND
position,
Cecil Sandford
would finish in
5TH
place and
Angelo Copeta
was forced to retire with engine trouble. The race was won by NSU works rider Rupert Hollaus with an average speed of
85.32 mph
(
1126.93 km/h
) with a similar NSU as Hermann Muller is seen riding on the image.
Angelo Copeta
was an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best year was in 1953 when he won the Spanish Grand Prix and finished fourth in the 125cc world championship.
Hermann Paul Müller
was a German sidecar, motorcycle, and race car driver. Müller started his competitive career in 1928. He became German Sidecar Champion in 1932, then in 1936, he took the German 500cc Motorcycle title. He switched to cars the next year, driving for Auto Union. He won the 1939 edition of the FIA French Grand Prix held in
Reims
. The winner of that season's European Championship was never officially announced by the AIACR due to the outbreak of World War II. Although Müller would have won the championship on points, the president of
Germany
's highest motorsports organisation declared Hermann Lang the champion. After the war he returned to motorcycle racing, winning the 1947 and 1948 German 250cc titles. In 1955, he won the 250cc world championship riding an NSU. To this day he remains the oldest person to win a Grand Prix in the Motorcycle world championship, at the age of 46.
Cecil Sandford
was a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was a two-time World Champion and a two-time Isle of Man TT winner. Sandford began his career riding in local scramble and grass track events. In 1950 he was offered a place on the AJS factory racing team alongside the reigning world champion, Les Graham. He followed Graham to the MV Agusta team and won the 1952 FIM 125cc title, bringing Agusta their first world championship. In the 1957 season, he won a second world championship, this time in the 250 class riding for the Mondial team. At the end of the 1957 season, Mondial and the other Italian motorcycle factories withdrew from Grand Prix racing due to escalating costs and Sandford decided to retire.
NSU
Motorenwerke AG, (normally just NSU), was founded in 1873. NSU began as a knitting machine manufacturer in the town of
Riedlingen
on the Danube in 1873, and moved to Neckarsulm, where the river Sulm flows into the river
Neckar
, in 1884. The company soon began to produce bicycles as well, and by 1892, bicycle manufacturing had completely replaced the knitting machine production. At about this time, the name NSU (from
Neckar
and Sulm) appeared as brand name. The first NSU motorcycle appeared in 1901, followed by the first NSU car in
1905. In
1932 the car production in
Heilbronn
was sold to Fiat. During World War II NSU designed and produced the famous Kettenkrad, the NSU HK101, a half-tracked motorcycle with the engine of the Opel Olympia. After the war, NSU restarted in a completely destroyed plant with pre-war constructions like the Quick, OSL and Konsul motorbikes; furthermore, the HK101 continued to be sold by NSU as an all-terrain vehicle in a civil version. The first post-war construction was the NSU Fox in 1949, available in a 2-stroke and a 4-stroke version. In 1953 the famous NSU Max followed, a 250 cc motorbike with a unique overhead camdrive with connecting rods. All these new models had a very innovative monocoque frame of pressed steel and a central rear suspension unit. Albert Roder, the genius chief engineer behind the success story, made it possible that in 1955 NSU became the biggest motorcycle producer in the world. NSU also holds 4 world records for speed: 1951, 1953, 1954 and
1955. In
1956 Wilhelm Herz started at the Bonneville Salt Flats,
Utah
. Herz was the first man to ride a motorcycle faster than
200 miles
per hour, in August 1956. Motorbike production continued until 1968. NSU's last production motorcycle was the Quick
50. A
museum in Neckarsulm, the Deutsches Zweirad- und NSU-Museum, has many of NSU's products on display. NSU had several successes in the Isle of Man TT races in the 1950s. NSU holds 4 World records for speed: 1951, 1953, 1954 and 1955. During the 1930s, and in the mid 1950s NSU was the largest motorcycle producer of the world. The NSU Quickly was the most popular moped of its time. It was produced between 1953 and
1966 in
over 1.000.000 examples and still can be found today all over the world as more than 60% were exported.
M.V. Agusta
began as an offshoot of the Agusta aviation company which was formed by Count Giovanni Agusta in 1923. The Count died in 1927, leaving the company in the hands of his wife and sons, Domenico (on the photo), Vincenzo, Mario and Corrado. Count Vincenzo Agusta together with his brother Domenico formed MV Agusta (the MV stood for Meccanica Verghera) at the end of the Second World War as a means to save the jobs of employees of the Agusta firm and also to fill the post-war need for cheap, efficient transportation. Count Vincenzo and Domenico Agusta had a passion for mechanical workings and for motorcycle racing. They were determined to have the best Grand Prix motorcycle racing team in the world and spared no expense on their passion. They achieved this goal by hiring some of the best riders of the time, namely Carlo Ubbiali, John Surtees, Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini, Phil Read, and others, and having the best engineers, most notably Arturo Magni. The fire-engine red racing machines became a hallmark of Grand Prix racing in the 1960s and early 1970s, winning 17 consecutive 500 cc World Championships, and 63 World Championships overall. With the death of Count Domenico Agusta in 1971, the company lost its guiding force. The company won their last Grand Prix in 1976 and by 1980, stopped producing motorcycles altogether. The Agusta aviation branch continued on with its successful helicopter business. Interestingly, MV produced their first prototype, ironically called "Vespa," in 1945. After learning of Piaggio's brand new motorscooter of the same name, it was changed to MV 98. The company successfully manufactured small-displacement, quintessential Café racer style motorcycles (mostly 125-350 cc) through the 1950s and 1960s, followed by the big four cylinder 600cc and 750cc bikes in the 1960s and 1970s.
This is a very nice and very rare
non period
photo that reflects a wonderful era of 1950s motorcycle history in a wonderful way. This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 x
30 cm
). It makes it perfectly suitable for framing!
Shipping costs will only be $ 7.00 regardless of how many photos you buy.   For 5 or more photos, shipping is free!
(Note: A. Herl, Inc. does not appear on photo, for ebay purposes only)
No copyright expressed or implied. Sold as collectable item only. We are clearing out our archives that we have gathered from various sources.
All items always sent well protected in PVC clear files
and board backed envelopes.
We have photographs that came from professional collections and/or were bought from the original photographer or press studio! They are all of professional and excellent quality.
After many decades of professionally collecting photographs and posters we are clearing out our archives. They make the perfect gift and are perfectly suited for framing. They will look gorgeous unframed and will be a true asset nicely framed with a border. They are a gorgeous and great asset in every home, workshop, workplace, restaurant, bar or club!
First come - first served. And you can always contact us for your requests. Please ask any questions before the auction ends.