Bikers are being urged to follow in a Kawasaki rider’s slipstream and be in with a chance of winning a bumper prize package which includes £1,000 cash and having their bike displayed at one of Europe’s biggest motorcycle shows.
Karl Galloway, of Takeley, Essex, took top prize in last year’s Carole Nash Britain’s Got Biking Talent competition and is set to fly out to Japan in September to enjoy the thrills and spills at the Motegi circuit. His modified Kawasaki 1200cc ZRX bike, which he built in memory of his mother, also featured in Carole Nash’s 2008 calendar which was given away and sold to over 120,000 bike fans nationwide. Commenting at the time Karl declared himself “exceptionally proud” saying: “The small inheritance I received went 100 per cent into the bike and, for me, having it being appreciated by so many people is a great achievement and a perfect memorial.”
Now Carole Nash, in association with biker’s bible MotorCycle News (MCN), is once again seeking out the nation’s finest motorbikes with the launch of 2008’s Carole Nash Britain’s Got Biking Talent competition.
As with last year when the competition attracted over 1,500 entries bikers will be invited to upload a picture of their beloved bike onto the MCN website (www.motorcyclenews.com). An expert judging panel will then whittle down entries to a shortlist of 50 which will be put to the public vote on both the Carole Nash (www.carolenash.com) and MCN websites.
The 12 bikes receiving the highest number of votes will all then be professionally photographed with their owners for the calendar. They will also feature on a special Carole Nash Britain’s Got Biking Talent stand at November’s International Motorcycle Show where the winner will be revealed to the Press and nearly 200,000 show visitors. This year the owner of Britain’s best loved bike will walk off with a £1,000 cash prize with the runner up getting a Shoei helmet worth nearly £400 and the third placed winner £250 worth of Spada biking gear. The helmet and leather winners will also receive Carole Nash helmet and leather cover. All three will also enjoy up to £250 off a Carole Nash insurance policy, VIP passes to the International Motorcycle Show and a night’s accommodation. As well as featuring in the traditional print version of Carole Nash’s calendar they will also feature in a digital version which the company will be offering as a free download.
Launching the competition, Rebecca Donohue, head of marketing at Carole Nash, the UK’s biggest motorcycle insurance specialist, said: “Last year Britain’s Got Biking Talent really captured the imagination of the biking public. We were deluged with entries and the judges faced a really difficult task in coming up with a shortlist. Karl’s Kawasaki was magnificent and a deserved winner but now we want to find its successor, the best loved bike in 2008.”
Riders can enter their bikes on the MCN website from Wednesday July 23rd and they will stay online until the judges announce the top 12 finalists going through to the public vote on September 27th. To be in with a chance of winning all bikers need to do is visit www.motorcyclenews.com/upload/bgbt09/bgbt.html then click ‘Upload your bike’, fill out a few details and upload some pictures. Carole Nash recommend choosing images that have been taken in good light against a clear background, without anybody sitting on the bike. Once a bike is uploaded, MCN users will be able to rate it from one to five, and post comments.
