- Auction: Iconic Auctioneers, NEC Classic Motor Show, Sunday, 15 November 2026
- Estimate for the Dunlop machine: 80,000 to 100,000 pounds (around 93,300 to 116,600 euros / 107,200 to 134,000 US dollars)
- Estimate for the McGuinness machine: 50,000 to 60,000 pounds (around 58,300 to 69,900 euros / 67,000 to 80,400 US dollars)
In 2000, Joey Dunlop rode the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man for the last time. One of his motorcycles from that season was a 999 cc Honda VTR1000 SP-1 from Paul Bird’s team. On it, the Northern Irishman won the Formula 1 race and finished third in the Senior TT. Now the machine is being publicly offered for sale for the first time. The auction house Iconic Auctioneers is selling it at the Iconic Motorcycle Sale during the NEC Classic Motor Show in Birmingham. The same auction also includes the SP-1 of John McGuinness, who was Dunlop’s team-mate in 2000.
When and where is Joey Dunlop’s Vimto Honda being auctioned?
The auction takes place on Sunday, 15 November 2026, at the NEC Classic Motor Show in Birmingham. Iconic Auctioneers is offering both Honda SP-1s there as part of the Iconic Motorcycle Sale.
For Joey Dunlop’s machine, the auction house gives an estimate of 80,000 to 100,000 pounds (around 93,300 to 116,600 euros / 107,200 to 134,000 US dollars). John McGuinness’s SP-1 is expected to fetch between 50,000 and 60,000 pounds (around 58,300 to 69,900 euros / 67,000 to 80,400 US dollars). Neither motorcycle has ever been publicly for sale before. The Dunlop machine is described as a “historically important TT and Joey Dunlop machine”.
What is the story behind this Honda SP-1?
Originally the motorcycle was not intended for Joey Dunlop at all, but for James Toseland. Ahead of the 2000 season, Paul Bird had bought two new Honda SP-1s with works kits for the British Superbike Championship (BSB).
The team’s main sponsor at the time was the British drinks manufacturer Vimto. That is where the striking purple paintwork comes from. The bike that later became Dunlop’s was earmarked as the number one machine for Toseland. After he crashed and was injured during testing at Cadwell Park, Dunlop took the motorcycle over for the races before the TT.
At the Cookstown 100 in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, he finished second in the rain. At the North West 200 he put the SP-1 on pole position in qualifying.
Why did Honda send a works engine for the TT?
The reason was the result at the North West 200. There, Dunlop and his team-mate John McGuinness were clearly slower than the V&M Yamaha R1s of David Jefferies and Michael Rutter.
After talks with Honda before the TT, support came directly from the factory. Specifically for the Formula 1 race, Dunlop’s SP-1 received an engine in World Superbike specification and the Showa suspension from Aaron Slight’s machine. Honda also sent its own staff to the TT to support the team on site.
How did the 2000 TT go for Joey Dunlop?
Joey Dunlop won three races at the 2000 TT: the Formula 1 race, the Lightweight and the Ultra Lightweight. He took the Formula 1 win on the SP-1. For that race it carried a one-off red and black Honda paint scheme.
A few days later, Dunlop started the Senior TT on the same machine, this time in Vimto’s purple colours. He finished third. His fastest lap of the 37.73-mile (around 60.7-kilometre) Mountain Course was set at 123.87 mph (around 199.3 km/h).
It was his last race at the Tourist Trophy. A few weeks later the 26-time TT winner and five-time Formula 1 world champion was killed in a crash at a race in Tallinn, Estonia. The 2000 TT was therefore the end of Dunlop’s career on the Isle of Man.
What is left of the works technology today?
The SP-1 does not come to auction in its 2000 TT condition. After the TT, Honda removed the works engine from Aaron Slight’s machine and most of the special suspension again.
The bike was then converted back to BSB specification. Some special parts stayed on it, however, including a starter motor made of magnesium and titanium. It is in exactly this condition that the motorcycle is now being auctioned.
What role did John McGuinness play in the Vimto team?
John McGuinness was Dunlop’s team-mate in 2000 and thus his last Honda team-mate. The second SP-1 on offer is his machine from that season. On it, McGuinness is said to have taken his first podium in the Formula 1 race at the 2000 TT.
How closely the two were connected back then was described by McGuinness in August 2025 at the Classic Bike Festival Ireland in Bishopscourt. There he rode Dunlop’s former Honda RC45 and remembered the 1999 Senior TT: “This has reminded me of the ’99 Senior TT. I was number five and Joey was number six, and he caught me on the second lap and I followed him around the rest of the lap and learned so much, and then I went on to be his team-mate in 2000.”
McGuinness also said that he had raced well against the RC45 on a few occasions, but that mostly he had only seen the back of it.
What happened to the two motorcycles after 2000?
At the end of the 2000 season, Dennis Berwick bought both SP-1s. He ran them in BSB in 2001 and 2002 for his son Peter Berwick and for Jason Davies.
A collector then bought the two machines and kept them until 2014. Since then they have belonged to the current vendor. The motorcycles have not raced since the 2002 season. Over the past 24 years, however, they have been run at selected events.
How does the estimate compare?
Former Joey Dunlop race bikes have already sold for six-figure sums. In 2025, Bonhams auctioned two Hondas from his family’s ownership for more than 200,000 pounds in total (around 233,200 euros / 267,900 US dollars).
The Honda VFR750R RC30 on which Dunlop won the Formula 1 race and the Senior TT in 1988 achieved 132,250 pounds including premium (around 154,200 euros / 177,100 US dollars). His Honda RC45 reached 92,000 pounds including premium (around 107,300 euros / 123,200 US dollars). On it he won the 1999 Ulster Grand Prix against the V&M Yamaha riders David Jefferies and Iain Duffus. Both motorcycles had previously stood for many years in Joey’s Bar in Ballymoney.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What is Joey Dunlop’s Vimto Honda SP-1 worth?
Iconic Auctioneers estimates the value at 80,000 to 100,000 pounds (around 93,300 to 116,600 euros / 107,200 to 134,000 US dollars). The final price will only be known after the auction on 15 November 2026.
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When and where does the auction take place?
The auction takes place on Sunday, 15 November 2026, at the NEC Classic Motor Show in Birmingham. Both SP-1s are offered in the Iconic Motorcycle Sale.
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Which races did Joey Dunlop contest on this Honda SP-1?
At the 2000 TT, Dunlop won the Formula 1 race on the SP-1 and finished third in the Senior TT. Before that he had been second on it at the Cookstown 100 and had taken pole position at the North West 200.
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Does the machine still have the works engine from the TT?
No. After the 2000 TT, the works engine from Aaron Slight’s machine and most of the special suspension were removed. The SP-1 is being auctioned in BSB specification, although some special parts such as the magnesium and titanium starter motor are still fitted.
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What is John McGuinness’s Honda SP-1 worth?
For John McGuinness’s SP-1 the estimate is 50,000 to 60,000 pounds (around 58,300 to 69,900 euros / 67,000 to 80,400 US dollars). On this machine he is said to have taken his first podium in the Formula 1 race at the 2000 TT.
