MotoGP 2011 rewind and review @dstoresf Dainese D-Store San Francisco

Fireside MotoGP evening photo with yours truly courtesy of Jules Cisek aka PopMonkey

The evening was set for Friday March 16, at the rather huge and plush Dainese D-Store in San Francisco.  That day, storms decided to hit the Central Coast and the Bay Area with a vengeance. As my wife Emily and I set off from our little village of Capitola we had resigned ourselves to an evening that might be a little more intimate in terms of attendance than a crowd...by the time we inched our way through the traffic that always backs up for the Bay Bridge, we arrived at the store around 6.20pm.  Kick off was 6.30.  After running back and forth with computer bags, my Hawaiian shirt, plus the artwork, prints and my Marco Simoncelli 58 of #58 books I brought for people to look at and possibly purchase we had arrived...

Well, shut the front door! If there wasn't a huge crowd of people there (it was mentioned to me that possibly as many people as there were in attendance for the visits by Marco Simoncelli and Jorge Lorenzo!  Totally humbled!)  Shelli, the lovely manager of the store, mentioned that she thought that due to the weather that there wouldn't be the number of people that were actually there, and as it turned out they didn't have enough seating for everyone.  A rough guess put the numbers around 40 plus.  Which just goes to show what a hardy bunch we NorCal motorcycle racing fans are...no rain is gonna put a damper in an evening of MotoGP (and of course beer kindly supplied by Peroni as well as some tasty pizza).  What was evening more humbling was people kept on arriving...and no-one got bored and left --- phew!! After a brief karaoke moment whilst I figured out the microphone, and with some minor hiccups involving my laptop and the syncing of the slideshow we went around the world with yours truly accompanied by some travel images, and a handful of my favourite shots from all fourteen MotoGP races I covered in 2011.

The whole "show" last a little over two hours.  With some good humour thrown in along with many great questions being asked it made the weather irrelevant! Hopefully the answers were as good as the questions!  Shelli deemed the whole evening a success, and I too was thrilled by the response and of course the turnout, especially for such a dour evening. Meeting up with likeminded people all fans of motorcycle racing and photography, and many of whom are good friends and as a result making new friends during the evening was extremely special.  Being accompanied by my wonderful wife Emily made it moreso....

I think we'll be doing something similar later this year.  So make sure to "like" the Dainese D-Store Facebook  page as well as my Andrew Wheeler - AutoMotoPhoto FaceBook page for updates that will be posted throughout the upcoming MotoGP 2012 season. 

Thanks again to all who attended.  It was a special evening for me and I hope for all of you.

MotoGP wall art for 2012?

VR46 #58 limited edition giclee canvas print

I thought I had added this update to my blog...but with Christmas and the decompression that takes place after the end of the season I overlooked this one medium.  OOPS!  I wanted to add that these have been rather popular, so if you're interested in having something a little bit different to hang on your wall follow this link for information on how to order/purchase, but don't wait too long!

Actual product - photographed outside in natural daylight 24"x18"

To find out more and order your print click here

AutoMotoPhoto 2012 Calendars

Whilst I am writing about items of beauty, it might  also be worth mentioning that my annual AutoMotoPhoto calendar is still available for purchase.  In fact, not only can you have it custom made with your favourite MotoGP rider, but the start month can also be changed.  So if you'd like you calendar to run from February to February, this can be arrange.  I have included below a photograph of one generic calendar, and two custom calendars so you can see the quality of the finish as well as how beautiful they look...

To find out more about the 2012 calendar click here

Valentino Rossi Limited Edition Helmet Print (No Really)

There are only a handful left. Then that'll be it for this image file.If you have been following this blog and my trails and travels over the last few years you'll know that a print on canvas that I donated to the Riders For Health charity raised $8500 at auction during the Friday morning proceedings at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Rider for Health auction just before the racing events got under way. I have only been advertising the print on my Face Book Fan Page but now want to give those who aren't "fans" (I'll admit I'm not a fan of that phrase - gettit...) a last chance opportunity to own their own copy. Check out the link to the Valentino Rossi Helmet Print.

Now onto Arabian Knights, part two, the race and departure...

The Rossi Print went for $8500. How Much Will A Rossi R1 Raise For Riders For Health?

The print to canvas of Valentino Rossi adjusting his Aldo Drudi designed helmet helmet at Valencia in 2008 was sold at auction at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Riders For Health Auction for $8500.

I attended the press day at the Long Beach Convention Centre in Long Beach California to capture images of the customised Yamaha R1 that publisher, Don Emde had put together with the help of Drudi Performance (the people that designed and painted Valentino Rossi AGV helmet), along with some help from Bob Starr at Yamaha (who donated the bike!), Roland Sands Design and others.The repainted Yamaha R1 is going to be sold for auction at one of the two MotoGP events to be held in 2010, either at Indianapolis or Laguna Seca.Striking as it is pretty, this should raise some well need funds for the Riders For Health charity. Watch out for more information and start saving!