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Italy's oldest surviving motorcycle manufacturer, Benelli was founded in Pesaro in 1911 by the six Benelli brothers. By 1927 Tonino Benelli was racing a 172cc machine equipped with single-overhead-cam engine, winning almost as he pleased to take that year's Italian Championship. The SOHC 175 was superseded by a short-stroke twin-cam version from which was developed the first racing 250 of 1935. By this time Benellis were winning classic races outside their native Italy, but an accident to Tonino, which caused his retirement from racing, set back the factory's competition programme for the next couple of years.

Benelli was back in force for 1937, and the new 250 duly demonstrated its potential when Martelli won that year's Milan-Taranto long-distance classic. Two years later came the marque's most famous victory, when lone Benelli rider Ted Mellors won the 1939 Isle of Man Lightweight TT.

Its factory destroyed by the Allies and then looted by the Germans, Benelli took time to re-establish itself after the war. Fortunately, the racing machines had been hidden away and survived intact, providing the Italian concern with a valuable springboard from which to renew its Grand Prix campaign. Rivals Moto Guzzi secured the first post-war 250cc World Championship in 1949, but Benelli struck back the following year when works rider Dario Ambrosini became champion at the end of a season that included wins in three of the four 250 rounds: Switzerland, Italy, and the Isle of Man TT. He finished 2nd in the other round (the Ulster GP) to crown a season of masterly dominance. Sadly, Ambrosini's death at the French Grand Prix in 1951 effectively put an end to Benelli's international efforts and it would be 1959 before the firm returned to the Grand Prix scene.

This 250 Benelli dates from 1952, by which time the design had been updated with a five-speed gearbox, new double-cradle frame, hydraulic suspension front and rear, 19" wheels with larger brakes, and an aerodynamic fuel tank extending forward of the steering head. The maximum power output of 28bhp arrived at 9,000rpm, and the 250 Benelli had a top speed, depending on gearing, of around 190km/h (118mph). This example was raced in period by Luigi Ciai. Partially restored by Mr Morbidelli, the machine is incomplete and thus is sold strictly as viewed. The history file consists mainly of period photographs, including one of Les Graham racing this type of Benelli at Berne, Switzerland in 1952.