Here is a new Arai replica helmet. The new Doohan TT Replica was worn by the Australian rider at the 2011 Tourist Trophy lap of honour, and Arai is now putting it into production, based on the RX-7 GP model. The model is Arai’s top-of-the-range helmet and the Doohan replica design has been created by Drudi Performance.

The design reflects Mick Doohan’s 500cc championship victories from 1994 to 1998 and also carries the TT logo and the island’s symbol. On the back of the helmet the course is drawn and the words “Mountain Course” written in gold lettering. After the Arai Parade Lap this year, 500 “Isle of Man TT” helmets a year will be produced by Arai, with some proceeds going to the competition organisers.

The Arai Doohan TT Replica helmet will be a limited edition and will have the price tag to match its exclusivity. It’s expected to retail in Europe for about €949.

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MotoGP fans will be in for a special treat when the Australian GP rolls around the weekend of October 14th to 16th, because GP and Australian legends Wayne Gardner and Mick Doohan will be riding a series of demonstration laps at the iconic Phillip Island circuit.

The day will carry extra significance for Gardner, who won the first two Australian Motorcycle Grands Prix at Phillip Island in 1989 and 1990, as he will also be joined by his 13 year-­old son Remy.

Remy, who is currently competing in the 250cc Moto3 class in the Spanish Campeonato Mediterraneo de Velocidad with a Moriwaki 250 and won round 4 of this highly competitive junior championship, will be riding alongside his father with Honda’s Moto3 bike, the NSF250R.

Moto3 4-strokes will be replacing the current 125cc GP class in 2012.

It’s always a great pleasure to ride the Phillip Island circuit, it’s an enjoyable layout and really fast which I love. I enjoyed a lot of special moments of my career there,” said the former 1987 World Champion. “I see it as a real honour to ride on my home track in front of my fans with my son, I’m expecting it to be a really special moment in my life. It’s great to be able to share a place and a sport that I am so passionate about with my family”.

And on riding side by side with his son, Gardner declared, “He’s too fast for me now so I prefer not to race. He’s cheeky and wants to prove he can beat me. It’s lucky I will be on a 1000cc and he will be on a 250cc.”

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Yesterday’s Isle of Man TT second Monster Energy Supersport race Supersport race was red flagged after rain hit the iconic Mountain Course while Michael Dunlop was leading.

But earlier in the day fans were treated to the Arai parade lap that saw former five time 500cc World Champion Mick Doohan, MotoGP’s Nicky Hayden and Cal Crutchlow and BSB rider Josh Brooks along with 2010 five time king of the IOMTT Ian Hutchinson, who was forced to sit out this year IOMTT due to a lingering leg injury sustained during his horrific 2010 crash at Silverstone, but that didn’t hold him back from doing the parade lap and pop a wheelie (check out the video after the jump).

Talking about the experience Mick Doohan later said that it one of his greatest experiences on a motorcycle, while Nicky Hayden riding a Ducati 1198 SP tweeted “Isle man TT is a bunch of softies…. JJ that place was wild I enjoyed my lap & seeing another form of racing those boys are hard as nails” and Cal Crutchlow who recently stated that he’d like to race in the TT when he retires from GP racing, went into a little more detail regarding his parade lap: “For people who want to know, end of mountain mile I had 189mph on clock of standard r1 which really means about 180 …! Pretty cool on roads…”

Continue reading: Arai Parade Lap with Mick Doohan, Nicky Hayden and Cal Crutchlow

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South Australia’s motorcycle safety commercial featuring Mick Doohan in ‘No place to run’ was one of the best we’ve ever seen and this second one is just as good.

The Motor Accident Commission (MAC) has now launched this new safety ad called ‘Gear Up’ road showing riders the risks they face if they don’t wear protective gear and the motorcyclist falling from his bike with his jeans, t-shirt and sneakers represented by just body paint and Mick Doohan drives it home with, “If you’re not wearing the right gear you may as well be wearing nothing.”

Check out the other video after the jump with Australia’s Minister for Road Safety, Jack Snelling and Doohan talking about the campaign, and Alpinestars and Dainese getting a not so subtle product placement.

Continue reading: New motorcycle safety commercial with Mick Doohan

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From 1985 to 1995, this two part video highlights the golden and legendary era of the 500cc Grand Prix racing where you can re-watch those fantastic riders and legends that go by the names of Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson, John Kocinski, Mick Doohan and Wayne Gardner and many others.

Watch the joys and pains of those who brought us such magnificent racing on those mean machines, so hit the play button.

Part 2 after the jump.

Continue reading: Memory Lane: 500cc Racing from 1985 to1995

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Five times 500cc World Champion, Micky Doohan who was forced to retire after crash in qualifying at the Jerez GP in 1999 that left hi, with serious leg injuries revealed to Australia’s Sunday Morning Herald that he was tempted to return to racing a few years back.

Doohan was contacted by a Honda satellite team who wanted the Australian champion to come out of retirement: “I told them to give me some time to think about it. I don’t think it would have taken me long to get up to speed - I hadn’t forgotten how to ride a bike.”

But ‘The Thunder from Down Under’ also candidly revealed that: “I was quite relieved when the team found someone, and I could then stop thinking about it.”

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World famous mechanic and Valentino Rossi’s crew chief has left a long interview with SuperBikePlanet in which he reveals many aspects of his long and rich career with riders like Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan and Freddie Spencer. Jeremy Burgess discusses some fascinating moments of MotoGP history and the riders themselves. Some quotes from the interview, on being chief mechanic at Honda for Wayne Gardner:

“Honda, as a company, if they saw that you could offer more to them, or you had the potential to do more, if you didn’t do that, you weren’t doing the best for Honda. So it basically came down, when he explained it to me, “you don’t have a choice. You’re either going to be the chief mechanic for Wayne Gardner, or you’re shirking your issues.”

On the difference between Gardner and Doohan, Burgess says:

“To draw the parallel of him [Gardner] and Mick (Doohan), Wayne you would have to go and tell him that “you can beat those guys. You beat them last week. You can do it. You can do it. You can do it.”

Continue reading: Jeremy Burgess on everything: after working with Doohan, anyone's easy

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Here’s another motorcycle safety video from Australia and very original because it uses MotoGP footage (hopefully Dorna gave their permission) and has The Thunder from Down Under, Mick Doohan who is already involved in SMART (Safer Motorcycle Advanced Rider Training) doing the talking.

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Mick Doohan was one of several athletes that was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame last Thursday evening in a lavish 25th anniversary gala dinner in Melbourne.

Doohan, who last year he opened a nightclub the CatHouse Restaurant and Lounge at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, will become just the third motorcycle racer to be inducted into the hall of fame, behind Kel Carruthers and once rival and teammate Wayne Gardner.

Carruthers was world 250 GP champion in 1969, Gardner was 500cc champion in 1987, and Doohan who was 5 times GP World Champion from 1994 to 1998.

When recently asked by Australia’s Herald Sun why Aussies have made such an impact in motorcycle racing at an international level, Doohan replied:

“The motorsport capital is Europe and that’s a long way to go for Australians, so there’s no point in doing it half-heartedly. If you’re going to go you’ve got to give it your best shot - I think that’s the attitude most Australians have when they go overseas for anything. It’s a big effort to get there and a long, lonely journey back if you haven’t succeeded.”

Source | bikenews

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With the Moto GP kicking off in Qatar, and the Superbike underway, it looks like it will be a season of record making and breaking. And the names to beat will be Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi, as both in their respective disciplines, will look to be the best (Italian) rider of the year.

In the ranking of most poles won in the three classes, Rossi is third on 51, preceded by Max Biaggi (56) and Mick Doohan (58). The possibility of Rossi beating Biaggi is at hand, but in Yamaha, Rossi has never achieved more than five poles in any one season.

If Rossi should win a fourth title with Yamaha, he would beat the likes of Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and Kenny Roberts all on three titles with the company. Rossi is also first in the ranking of most points ever won, with 3,720, ahead of Loris Capirossi on 2,993 and Max Biaggi 2,892. If Rossi gets 400 points (he reached 373 last year) he could hit the 4,000 mark.

Continue reading: The season for records: Valentino Rossi vs history and Agostini, Doohan and Biaggi

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Remember the same wiggle that Mladin and Spies did at Road Atlanta? How about simultaneous highsides like what happened to Mick Doohan and Pierfrancesco Chili during the German GP at the Nürburgring circuit in 1990?

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“Most people don’t get the chance to compete in actual Moto GP racing, so I joined together with Dreamworld to create a ride that allows everyone to experience the rush of motorcycle racing” said Mick Doohan.

Located at the Dreamworld theme park on the Queensland Gold Coast in Australia. The ride consists of sitting on full size replica MotoGP 500cc race bikes with a launch speed of 72 kilometres and riders are held on through a unique restraint system.

Original, even if the ride looks pretty tame.

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