On Saturday evening, for the second consecutive year the Buon Compleanno Sic (happy birthday) event took place to remember the late and still very much missed Marco Simoncelli who would have turned 26 on January 20th.

The event was organized by the Marco Simoncelli Foundation and held at the 105 Stadium in Rimini with all proceeds of the evening going to help the Foundation carry out their charity projects. Almost 5000 people turned up for the event including friends like Mattia Pasini and Valentino Rossi.

The event also was used to present the new “Squadra Corse Sic 58” team that will see two young riders Kevin Sabatucci and Mattia Casadei race in the Italian PreGP championship (for 13 to 16-year olds) on Honda machines with San Carlo as their sponsor and Fausto Gresini supplying the technical support, but more importantly the team will be run by Paolo Simoncelli.

The initial idea of forming a racing team honouring Simoncelli’s name came from his former MotoGP crewchief Aligi Deganello (now with Aprilia in WSBK’s) and Aldo Drudi back in March 2012, who both thought that Paolo Simoncelli could really help in the formation of talented young riders.

The city of Coriano has decided to dedicate December 8th to the memory of Marco Simoncelli. Next Saturday will also be an important date as they will inaugurate and open to the public, inside the Palazzo della Cultura, the museum “La storia del Sic” (The History of Sic) and also finally inaugurate a permanent memorial near the steps- on the left side - of the church where Simoncelli’s funeral was celebrated.

The memorial dubbed “Il podio del Sic” (Sic’s podium) was designed by architects Alice Bianchi and Daniele Montanari and promoted by the Associazione 58Boys who raised the funds, and will now offer visiting fans from all over the world a proper place where to pay their respects.

The ‘podium’ is simple seat designed to loook continuous and fluid, reminiscent of a track, a turn and a race and in middle three blocks of different heights. The top step is dedicated to the late rider and the stele was designed​in collaboration with Aldo Drudi.

The photo source is the stunning 350 square meter murales designed by street artist Davide Eron Salvadei (see video after the jump) that adorns one of the walls of the Coriano sports building, that has be renamed “Palazzetto dello Sport Marco Simoncelli.”

Continue reading: Marco Simoncelli museum and memorial to be inaugurated

During the Mugello GP weekend, Honda Racing Corporation donated to the Simoncelli family two very special motorcycles, their son’s factory 2011 RC212V MotoGP machine # 58, that will be displayed in the Simoncelli Museum and a ‘Super Sic’ special edition CBR1000RR Fireblade designed by Aldo Drudi.

This CBR will now be put up for auction on eBay starting on Thursday September 13th at 9pm CET during this year’s DEDIKATO event and the starting price will be one euro. The auction will run until September 19th 9pm (which will also include other items) and all the proceeds will be going to the Marco Simoncelli Foundation and the bike will be presented to the winner at EICMA Milan in November.

After thevideo hype on Valentino Rossi’s Mugello helmets, we can finally see the 2012 lid and the graphic design that Rossi and Aldo Drudi came up with for this weekend’s Italian GP, and that he donned this morning in FP3 (a lowly 20th and 1.2 seconds off pace).

We came very close when we tried to imagine the finished job, flowery motif, instead of the San Remo Festival (a song festival), the words Festival of Mugello are depicted, Italian singer Gianni Morandi is on the top of the lid with a bold ‘Restiamo Uniti’ (let’s stay united, a gimmick line Morandi used in the show to spur Italians together when the country was on the verge of default and clear message to Ducati and his fans) on the top. On the back, his trademark sun and moon motif, his bulldogs Cecilia and Cesare, and Marco Simoncelli’s racing #58 continues to be present.

There’s the line from Morandi’s famous song “Fatti mandare dalla mamma a prendere il latte” (Have your mother send you to pick up some milk).The rest of the song goes “è un’ora che aspetto davanti al portone” (it’s an hour that I’ve been waiting at your door) and “presto scendi, scendi amore, ho bisogno di te” (hurry, come downstairs love, I need you), an ambiguous message to Ducati and Audi?

After yesterday’s Monster Energy first video of Valentino Rossi explaining the various helmets he has worn during the Italian GPs, here’s espisode two of the series, ‘The Making Of’ with Rossi and Aldo Drudi coming up with some ideas for the special edition lid, that the Ducati rider will be donning for the first time tomorrow morning at Mugello.

It looks like Rossi has gone with a flowery motif and there’s Festival written on it - maybe a reference to the Festival of San Remo - with a line from an an old Italian song by Gianni Morandi, called “Fatti mandare dalla mamma a prendere il latte” (have your mother send you to pick up some milk).

Obviously it has some complicated meaning, but we’ll just have to wait for Rossi to explain it.

Last December, Aligi Deganello who was the late Marco Simoncelli’s crewchief and now is Max Biaggi’s crewchief in World Superbikes suggested that with all the experience that Paolo Simoncelli has, he should work with a racing team in one form or another, and now rumors in Italy actually suggest that Simoncelli Sr. might be actually forming his own team with the help of Aldo Drudi.

Drudi as everyone knows is the famed graphic designer of Drudi Performance and is responsible for the designs on Valentino Rossi’s helmets, Simoncelli’s and many other riders and team liveries.

In an interview with Italian website moto.it Drudi sort of quashed the rumor, but did admit that he and Paolo have been talking about it and thinks that this would be a great way to keep Marco’s name alive in pro-active way and believes that Simoncelli’s dad could really help a talented young rider.

Drudi also said that while he isn’t a talent scout, he is a motorcycle racing fan and if this project should actually come around he’d be fully behind it and already has an idea for the #58 Sic Racing Team livery, white, red and black, Marco’s colours.

We’re dubbing Valentino Rossi’s 2011 Mugello helmet “The Eye” although we gather that’s not its official name. In any case, there will be an AGV Rossi Mugello replica version to celebrate the helmet there’s no way we’d want to ride behind. The Aldo Drudi-designed helmet was made as an ironic take on Rossi’s last fatalistic Mugello round, and as a message to Rossi and Ducati fans to keep on eye on them because things can change (hoping for more positive rounds in the future).

The Mugello helmet features a big eye, the Italian flag to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italian unification, and Rossi’s dogs with the words “the chihuahua tribe”, photographed by the rider himself. The AGV Valentino Rossi Replica Mugello 2011 looks like it will get a production run, so keep your eye open for more details in the future.

New Arai RX-7 replica helmets are available. Using the same Monster HJC R-PHA 10 Ben Spies replica helmet by Aldo Drudi, we get new Cal Crutchlow and Leon Haslam replicas. The Crutchlow helmet is based on the same RX-7 GP model the British has been wearing in this year’s MotoGP and last year’s Superbike season. The colours are typical of Monster Energy and include extra graphics by Aldo Drudi with flame lines and a glittery finish.

The Leon Haslam replica helmet is the same RX-7 GP model that the rider used when he came second in last year’s Superbike championship, and the same model that he’s using again this year. The design is also by Drudi and has a black gloss background and huge white “H” that adorns the front curvature of the helmet. Asymmetric floral graphics complete the design. Both replica helmets have a five-year guarantee and in sizing from XS to XXL, they costs about 949 euros each.

Crutchlow and Haslam replica helmets by Arai

The Arai Chaser helmet range gets a couple of updates for 2011, including two new replica models: the Spencer Re-Style Black and Colin Legend White models. Both have been created by Aldo Drudi and are based on the Chaser-V Phil Read model. The external shell is made from fibreglass - light and durable - and they have the usual comfort characteristics of removable and washable cheek padding, pinlock visor and a polystyrene shell in different thicknesses.

The Chaser Spencer Re-Style Black is a homage to Freddie Spencer, as its name suggests, and it has black and grey graphics on a white background. The design is modern but is meant to reflect a historic replica. It comes in sizes from XS to XXL and costs about 513 euros in Europe. The Chaser Colin Legend White model also has new colours and will be available from early 2011.

Other updates in the range include the new Chaser-V model where “V stands for Ventilation, Visor and Visibility, intended to be the defining characteristics of this new helmet. It has larger front and rear ventilation points, also included at the neck and on the sides. The SAI visor is wider and can include Pinlock anti-fog points.

The interior lining and padding can be removed and can also be purchased in different thicknesses for better individual comfort. The points attaching the interior lining have been from the front of the helmet to the sides for a more comfortable wear and the external shell has been completely redesigned. It’s now made from Super Fibre Laminate construction for better durability. A large colour range is available and sizing comes in XS to XXL. A Phil Read replica is available, and the Chaser-V helmet costs about 629 euros. Go to the Arai site for more information.

Stars and Stripes, this the livery that world famous graphic designer Aldo Drudi of Drudi Perfomance has come up for American Honda and their one off Moto2 effort at the 2010 Red Bull Indianapolis GP that takes place August 27th to 29th.

The team’s Moriwaki MD600 will see WSBK rider Roger Lee Hayden (check out his special leathers after the jump) racing the Moto2 bike and Kevin Schwantz managing the team and this entry is their effort to raise money the Ride for Kids program, and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.

American Honda is also planning to have Drudi designed commemorative shirts and hats available to the public with all proceeds to benefit the Ride for Kids.

Team Manager Kevin Schwantz has a long history with Drudi, who first created Schwantz’s starbust helmet design in 1991 and designs all of Valentino Rossi’s helmets and several MotoGP teams, including Yamaha and Honda Gresini said:

To work with Kevin, who is a friend and a champion, on a project that American Honda is supporting, it was a given that I was honored to be asked to create the graphics. This assignment has been particularly special to me because for a long time I have wanted to create a theme that focused on the stars and stripes of the USA, which turns out to be the perfect match for this project. It is a very exciting opportunity and a project that will be of the highest level.”

Continue reading: Red, White and Blue for Roger Lee Hayden's Moriwaki Moto2