In Nigel Mansell’s era of racing, it was not unusual to see a driver carry their own bags. Nor was it unheard of for a driver to make their own way between backstage areas of a track during race weekends.

The ST-70 offered here is believed to have been produced in 1987, the final year Williams sported Honda sponsorship. Registered in 1988, Nigel Mansell used this ST-70 from 1988 until 1994. Distinguished from Honda’s other minibikes, the ST-series had a pressed steel “T-bone” frame, bench-style saddle seat, small chunky tyres and folding handlebars. While the ST-50 was powered by a 49 cc single cylinder four-stroke engine, the ST-70 boasted the slightly more powerful 72 cc motor. The gearbox could be a three-speed semi-automatic, or four-speed manual—this example is equipped with the latter option.

Following the British driver around the world on the Formula 1 calendar for many years, Mansell gained great use out of the fun-sized Honda, even when later driving for Scuderia Ferrari, before returning to Canon Williams Renault. Period photographs depict Mansell sharing a ride with fellow Ferrari co-driver Alain Prost. After Mansell hung up his racing gloves, the bike went back to Jersey. Here it was still in use but taken off the road in 1994. Mansell’s son, Greg, discovered the bike in a shed and decided to have it sympathetically recommissioned as a present to Nigel.

Today this ST-70 presents wonderfully and is an excellent piece of Formula 1 racing history. The odometer reads just 1,582 kilometres at the time of cataloguing.