ARAI FIVE YEAR COMPETITION WINNER ANNOUNCED

William ‘Arthur’ Taylor will receive a brand new Arai motorcycle helmet every year for the next five years after winning a national competition.

With a fantastic prize value of £2,950, Phoenix, the UK distributor of Arai helmets, launched the competition in March 2009 for any customer who bought an Arai from its motorcycle range at either a Five Star dealer or a Hein Gericke store.

Mr Taylor, 60,(pictured, centre) a self-employed ground worker from Hornsea, was entered into the competition at his local Hein Gericke store in Hull when his wife bought him a helmet as a birthday present.

On receiving his new helmet, the lucky man said: “I was very surprised when I got the call. You enter competitions but never expect to hear anything back – I never win anything. To win a new Arai helmet for the next five years is just super. I’ve had Arais for the last 20 years and have always been impressed with them.”

Arthur, who rides a Honda CBR600RR, chose the range-topping RX-7 GP Aoyama replica as his first of the five annual prizes. This was presented to him by Hein Gericke Hull’s store manager, Mark Mitchell, and Phoenix’s assistant marketing manager, Luke Brackenbury.

For more information on Arai products or to find your nearest dealer, contact 01782 569 800 or visit www.whyarai.co.uk

Arai Wins RiDER Power Survey - 15 October 2009

Arai helmets have come top of RiDE magazine’s colossal 2009 RiDER Power survey.



The recent survey, taken part by 5000 readers of the pro-consumer motorcycle magazine, placed three helmets from the Arai range in the overall top 10, with the RX-7 Corsair at number one.

Arai was also king of the comfort category with the Corsair, recently superseded by the RX-7 GP, rated first again, followed by four other helmets from the Arai range placed in the top seven.

Started in 1998 and now the biggest biking consumer survey of its size in the UK, RiDER Power has become respected by the industry and used as a trusted tool for many riders to find the best motorcycle products and services available.

RiDE’s editor, Colin Overland, commented: “This is a huge thumbs-up from RiDE’s readers for the Arai range. Our readers aren’t swayed by fashion, and they’re first and foremost road riders, not too bothered by what’s happening on the racetrack. They’re out there all year round, in all weathers. So if they say something’s good, it’s good.”

The full results of the 2009 RiDER Power survey can be found in RiDE’s November issue.

More information and news visit www.whyarai.co.uk

Steve Plater: 2009 British Supersport Champion - 13 October 2009

HM Plant Honda’s Steve Plater was crowned the 2009 British Supersport champion after taking a commanding victory at Oulton Park (October 10, 2009).



Plater entered the final round of the season with an 11 point lead over title rival, Billy McConnell. Despite claiming pole position, Plater was forced to follow McConnell’s Yamaha for the early part of the race before gathering his momentum and forcing his way to the front. A mistake from McConnell dropped him out of the points, easing the pressure off the popular Lincolnshire man but still determined to take the title in a winning fashion.

After taking the race victory, Plater said: "I really wanted to win the race, as well as to win the championship. It's ok to finish in the points or on the podium but it's not really my way. There is nothing better than to stand on the top step and obviously Billy had three wins, I had three wins and Westy (James Westmoreland) had two, so if Westy won it would have given us three wins apiece. As it is now I have had more podiums than anyone else, more wins and now the championship so that's nice."

"It's mega to put the championship to bed here at Oulton Park and it's a big relief as much as anything else as for the last four or five rounds it's been a closely fought thing. It's also mega for HM Plant Honda and all my family, fans and all the people who have been ringing and texting me this last few weeks, who I'd like to thank for their continued support."

For more news and Arai Information please visit www.whyarai.co.uk

Boast Crowned 2009 Short Track Champion – Twice! - 13 October 2009

Arai racer Pete Boast ended his 2009 season with no-less than two national championship titles under his belt, after being crowned UK Short Track and UK Thunderbike Champion at the final round of the series at Rye House Speedway Stadium, in Hertfordshire at the weekend (October 9-10).


Going into the final round of the series with a 14-point advantage, the Team Suzuki Short Track racer needed to make the Short Track final and finish inside the top-nine, but with the world's most successful rider, seven-times US Grand National Champion, Chris Carr in attendance, Boast would have his work cut-out.

In his heat race Boast stormed to a comfortable second place finish, before a strong ride in the semi-final saw him lead Carr for four laps, before the american legend made his move and relegated Boast to the runner-up spot, with reigning champion Marco Belli in third. Come the final, Boast's plan to ride a comfortable race was soon forgotten after the RM-Z450 rider made a strong start and began trading places early-on with Carr and championship contender Aidan Collins.

But, in what has proven to be a typical pattern for Boast, disaster struck when Tom Woolley collided with the back of Boast on lap eight, almost taking the pair out. Thankfully, Boast remained on-board and recommenced his attack, to eventually cross the line in third and take the 2009 title.

Boast: "What a weekend. If the last round wasn't eventful enough, this one didn't make my life easy. Being able to race alongside Chris Carr is a fantastic experience and of course to clinch the championship on the same day is tremendous. The new fuel-injected RM-Z450 was fantastic straight from the crate, improving as the season has gone on. I'd just like to thank Suzuki GB and all of my sponsors for their continued support."

In the Thunderbike Class, Boast decided not to ride the final round after realising he'd actually clinched the title at the penultimate round of the series.

Gino Rea retakes the championship lead at Magny Cours

Gino Rea and Ten Kate Honda had a great outcome at Magny Cours (October 4, 2009) finishing second in a hard fought race and retaking the lead in the WSBK Superstock 600 championship.



Arai racer Gino, 20, enters the last race of the season at Portimao, Portugal, on October 25 with a three point lead in the championship.

In Gino's words:

"Magny Cours went pretty much to plan and we have come out leading the Superstock 600 championship. The start of my race didn’t go how I wanted it to, I was a little eager and pushed a bit too much in the first couple of laps, I ended up going backwards to eighth place," said the Londoner.

"I regrouped and settled down but was having small problems with my clutch, I made my way back up to the front and finished the race in second. It was perfect for my championship, I lead by three points and the final race is Portimao. Last year I won there, so I hope I can have the same success and clinch the championship title this year."

Keep up with Gino at www.ginorea.com

WSB: Haga Back On Top Of The World - 5 October 2009

Arai racer Noriyuki Haga took his Ducati Xerox 1098R back to the top of the World Superbike championship table after a 2nd and 1st place at the penultimate round at Magny-Cours, France.


Despite only just losing out to his arch title rival, Ben Spies, in the first outing, Haga capitalised on the Yamaha riders’ machine issues in the second race of the day to take a commanding win. Haga now enters the last round at Portimao, Portugal, with a 10 point advantage. It was a solid performance from the Arai-wearing British riders. Hanspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea was holding a comfprtable 2nd place in the first race until he had to retire with a mechanical issue, allowing Max Biaggi to take the young Irishman’s fourth place overall in the championship. Rea made up for his disappointment by taking the final podium in the second race. Leon Haslam put the problems surrounding the future of his Stiggy Racing team behind him to score two solid 5th places.

Noriyuki Haga - Race 1 – 2nd , Race 2 - winner “In Race 1 I really enjoyed myself, it was a fantastic race. I didn’t make the best start and then it took a lot of laps before I was able to pass Max. Once I got past him I realized I didn’t have many laps left in which to catch Ben; if I’d had just one extra lap, I think I’d have won. On the last lap I was waiting for Ben to make a mistake and when he did so, I managed to get up alongside him but unfortunately the next corner worked in his favour and he got past me. Then, in the second race, we made some small changes to my bike and they worked, giving me more confidence. This victory is truly a great result as we have regained a small advantage. Now we go to Portimao where Ben and I will fight for the 2009 title – I can’t wait.”

Jonathan Rea – DNF & 3rd “All weekend we’ve had a good pace but it just seems that, come the first race, we couldn’t put it together. I’m really sorry for the team because I take a lot of the blame for that. It put me out of my rhythm and then I got a bit of arm pump towards the end of race two. I was running with the guys at the front until about five laps from the end because the package we had here was as strong as at Imola last week. We’ll regroup back at the workshop and come back strong for Portimao.”

Leon Haslam - Race 1 - 5th, Race 2 – 5th “We had a little problem in race one that held us back from the leaders. In race two, in the early part of the race, we had a lot better set-up. But after about lap six or seven the bike was surging a bit so I reset the electronics. A few minor things held us back from challenging for a podium or two but I am pretty happy to get a couple of fifths.”

For more news and Arai information, latest helmets etc visit www.whyarai.co.uk

WSS: Crutchlow Homes In On Title - 5 October 2009

Arai racer Cal Crutchlow has seen his World Supersport championship lead dramatically increased at the French round at Magny-Cours this past weekend (October 4, 2009).


Crutchlow started well from his pole position on the grid, momentarily taking first going into the second lap before dropping to second again behind Kawasaki rider, Joan Lascorz, with a comfortable pace below his proven race pace. Rival Laverty came past on the second lap before going wide a lap later allowing Crutchlow back through. Laverty then came back through, but low-sided on lap 12, rejoining in 15th position.

Crutchlow then began to close in on Lascorz, and was gaining ground for a pass when the race was red flagged with another rider dropping oil, giving the win to Lascorz. Crutchlow goes to Portimao for the final race on 230 points, leading rival Laverty by 19. Cal Crutchlow.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (2nd) "It was a good enough race in the end, I felt like I could have won it, and it was about time we had some more luck. Eugene crashed but he was no real problem during the race, the pace was really slow and I knew I could go to low 1'41s towards the end of the race if I needed to. We did what we needed to do, and we got a good second place which was nice. The team has worked really hard, so we're all looking to keep it going for the next one at Portimao."

For more news and Arai information, latest helmets etc visit www.whyarai.co.uk

Haslam Looking for French Success

Leon Haslam is hoping to take a step forward from his recent consistency when he challenges for a first win of the year in the 13th and penultimate World Superbike Championship round of 2009 at the Magny-Cours circuit in France on Sunday.

Haslam has taken the Stiggy Racing Honda machine to 12 top six finishes this year, including four podium finishes, and is looking for further podium success in the last four races in France this Sunday and then in Portugal on October 25.

The 26-year-old is sixth in the World Championship points standings and is the leading private team rider of 2009, an impressive 64 points ahead of the next non-factory rider.

"Weve certainly found some consistency in recent races and its all credit to Stiggy and the team that weve been able to get those results, said Haslam. The team has had a turbulent time of late but there was a really genuine team spirit in Imola last weekend and Im sure that will carry us through the final two rounds.Haslam is also looking to add to his two front row starts in Holland in April and in Germany three weeks ago with an improved qualifying performance in France this weekend".

Haslam continued: "Again, I missed out on challenging for the front row by just 0.05s in Imola last Saturday so were very close to being there on a regular basis now and I just need to ensure I get the clean, fast laps when I need to on the two qualifying tyres were allowed.Magny-Cours provides a technical test for us in terms of set-up but Im pretty confident that with the team I have behind me that we can again find the race setting and be near the front in Sundays two races".