2001 Piaggio Gilera

As all F1 fans out there will know, the fastest vehicles at any F1 circuit are - in order of swiftness - the F1 cars, the safety car, and the nippy little scooters that F1 drivers use to zip around the pit lane and the paddock.

We’ve all seen them. They look like a hoot.

The vendor, who collects all sorts of classic and other automotive bits and pieces, has decided that this is a collector niche he’d like to explore – which is why he has a number of these fabulous little F1 scooters.

This particular scooter was hustled through various paddocks and pit lanes by Giancarlo Fisichella and Jenson Button throughout the course of 2001, when the pair were the drivers for the Benetton F1 team.

They may have struggled to get a decent performance out of the car and its unproven Renault RS21 V10 engine, but we’d like to think that their trusty 49cc Piaggio Gilera scooter never let them down. 

Unregistered for the road, the scooter is showing just 1,273 miles on the odometer and has retained its striking Benetton livery and sponsor logos.

It is in very decent all-round condition but, as it’s been in dry storage for a while, we haven’t started or driven it. 

A little light recommissioning should be all that’s required to get it up and running again.

For the most part, this very funky looking, Benetton-liveried scooter shows all the signs of having covered few miles and all of them within the confines of F1 paddocks and perimeter fences.

There is some minor cosmetic damage to note here and there, but nothing that adds up to so much as a hill of beans. 

In no particular order, we spotted: a scuff to the white fairing above the instrument binnacle on the nearside; some scratches to the lower section of the front fairing on the same side; and a few paint chips and scuffs to the rear and nearside of the pillion seat platform.

Those insignificant blemishes aside, the rest of the scooter is really very good.

The wheels are excellent, as are the tyres, although they may well be rather long in the tooth by now. 

The telescopic front forks look to be in fine fettle, as do the braking and exhaust systems.

The various sponsor logos and decals are intact and undamaged as far as we can see.  

Those of you who possess a deerstalker hat and a magnifying glass will have deduced that the inside of this scooter is very much in the same place as the outside.

Obviously, motorcycles, mopeds and scooters don’t really have an interior but we’re choosing this section to talk about the seats, instrumentation and controls.

The black vinyl on the main seat is in very good order and the seat cushioning is plump, firm and comfortable.

The seat cushion on the rudimentary pillion platform is missing, leaving a couple of strips of adhesive tape to show where it was once affixed.

Perhaps it was lost in action, possibly while ferrying either Mr. Fisichella or Mr. Button on the ride of shame from the location of their crashed and/or broken-down car back to the pit lane.

The instrument binnacle looks good to us, as does the bike’s array of dials, switches and controls, although, as we haven’t ridden the bike, we can’t vouch for their functionality, efficacy or accuracy.

Again, as we haven’t ridden the bike, we can’t voice an opinion on how well it handles or rides. 

We can say that everything on and ancillary to the engine and drivetrain looks pretty good to us, and there’s nothing to suggest that the bike is in anything other than decent mechanical order. 

As for the underside, what you see is what you get. It’s all there, open for inspection, and it all seems fine to us with no leaks, drips or damage of note anywhere that we can see.

The scooter comes with less history than David Bowie in The Man Who Fell to Earth.

But we know what it is, we know where it’s been, we know at least two of the F1 drivers who’ve ridden it, and we know what the odometer says.

Besides, there’s really nowhere for any bad news to hide on a Piaggio scooter and we can’t imagine there’s anything worrying lurking in the shadows anywhere. 

Not least because the vendor is a man who really knows his F1 paddock bikes and isn’t in the habit of buying bad ones or anything with even remotely dodgy provenance.

With just 1,273 miles on the clock, this is effectively a new scooter that just happens to be 25 years’ old.

But that’s probably not why you’ll buy it.

Deep down, you’ll want people to stop, stare and say, “Why is your scooter covered in Michelin, Renault, Marconi and Benetton stickers?”.

And you can reply, “Oh, that’s so Jenson Button and Giancarlo Fisichella could find it in the F1 paddock”.

What fun.

We’re confident to offer this fine car for auction with an estimate of £2,000 - £4,000. 

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at THE MARKET HQ in South Oxfordshire. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays (apart from Bank Holidays) between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.