New Arai junior karting helmet - CK6

The first batch of the new Arai CK6 arrived in early December and we had several to get painted for customers for Christmas. These were finished before Christmas but we couldn't show them here until now, as most of them were surprise presents!

Motorsport News Feature

Motorsport News visited the workshop a while ago and the feature they put together is in the Christmas issue which is in the shops now, you can view the whole article here. http://www.jlfdesigns.com/MN58-59.pdf

Gorillaz Helmet.

Here's a helmet that was painted in a Gorillaz theme.

Under the characters are many hours worth of hand-painted grafitti over a metalflake base. Block colours with pinstriping over green candy were put through the middle to give a contrast to the detail on the sides.

This helmet was painted for fun in my spare time (which isn't often!)  and will be used as a show helmet for the workshop. We're planning to produce several themed helmets this year so keep checking the blog & website for updates!

Showtime!

Sunday was a busy day as Del and myself made visits to the Kartmania Kart Show and the International Bike Show. Luckily the venues were only about 30 miles apart so first we visited the Kart Show where several stands had JLF painted-helmets on them, including the Arai stand. Also on display were helmets belonging to Vettel, Alonso, Kovallainen and Damon Hill so we were in good company!

After that flying visit we then went on to the Bike Show, where Arai had a hugely impressive double-decker stand featuring their full range of helmets, and right at the front was the 3 oversized helmets we had painted a few weeks before. The Show was pretty hectic so it was good to be able to have a break upstairs with a couple of Red Bulls.

While we were there we came across a stand featuring statues made from recycled bike parts including this 7ft replica of the Alien Queen from the film. I can't imagine the hours involved in making it, but I want one!

Arai Bike helmets - Size XXXXXXL

With the International Bike Show fast approaching, Arai asked us to re-paint 3 oversized display versions of their helmets. The helmets had first been painted over ten years before, so were in need of refurbishing ready for Arai's stand at the show.

Two of the helmets were painted as replicas of Mick Doohan and Freddie Spencers' designs and the third was painted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Arais' first involvement at the Isle of Man TT races.

If you're at the Show, take a look at Arais' stand - you won't miss the helmets!

Suffolk Motorsports Show 2009

We recently exhibited at a motorsport show organised to showcase the local motor-racing scene. It was held in the centre of historic Bury St Edmunds, opposite the Abbey Gate. It was a relaxed, low-key day and was a chance to catch up with friends, local racers and people from the many local racing companies.

The last time a similar show was held was 40 years ago so hopefully the next one will be a little sooner! A lot of the cars on display were historic racers which fitted perfectly with the surroundings.

Lewis Hamilton British GP Helmet

For the British GP we added a patriotic touch to Lewis's helmet with a Union Jack flag on the top, showing through a "torn" section in the yellow.

Silverstone was another frustrating race for Lewis with a late spin ruining any chance of a good result after some great overtaking moves earlier in the race. The results aren't coming but the determination's still there!