Once a mystery, a rare piece of Australian motorsport history has landed on Speedcafe.com Classifieds.
Formula 1 world champion Alan Jones’ first racing helmet was spotted and purchased by an astute collector at a Gold Coast market in 2012.
The helmet has been listed under memorabilia on the Speedcafe.com Classifieds marketplace for $10,500.
Originally thought to be the helmet of Australian open-wheel star Stan Jones, it was later verified to be the first go-kart helmet of his son, 1980 world Formula 1 champion Alan Jones.
The open-faced AGV helmet is silver in colour and is decorated with a single blue stripe down its centre.
It comes autographed by ‘AJ’, who provided a background story of the helmet which was housed in a leather Marlboro bag.
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“When this guy tracked me down I could not believe what he had,” said Jones.
“I saw the bag and it was obvious it was the bag given to me by Marlboro after I won the world title – it has my initials sewn in the top of it.
“When he produced the helmet I knew instantly that it was my first go-kart helmet.
“He thought it might have belonged to my dad, but I knew straight away it was my go-kart lid.”
Jones only competed in a handful of go-kart events in the early 1960s in Victoria before progressing into junior formula and eventually into the grand prix footprints of his father Stan.
Pieces don’t come rarer than this AGV helmet from the early ‘60s which comes complete with plenty of stone chips.
Not confined to solely carrying listings for motor racing related items, Speedcafe.com Classifieds is open to all categories of products from boats and books to trikes and trailers.
The added resources of the Speedcafe.com website, which notched up 50 million page views last year, strategically markets Classifieds to an ever-expanding international readership.
CLICK HERE to view the helmet on Speedcafe.com Classifieds.
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