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126,000 Enthusiast British fans jam pack Brands Hatch Brands Hatch, Kent,United Kingdon August 3-5th, 2007 - With still no SBK World Superbike round taking place in America for 2007, I was still excited to return to the incredible Brands Hatch, British round of the Championship this year. If you remember from our last reports, the historical Brands Hatch Raceway set in the beautiful rolling green farmland in the county of Kent, just south of London, dates back to the 1920s and has host every form of major motorsports events from FIA Formula One and World Championship Sports car rounds, to the world's premier motorcycle races. It is amazing that historic racing venues in Europe, like this one at Brands hatch, just get better with age, while in America, race tracks won't comply to the latest race car and safety standards, and end up being run down club tracks.
Rhian's playmate for our Fast Dates calendar shoot is Gemma Louise Henry, another professional model who just happens to also have a university degree in journalism. Gemma told us she can always get a real job when when gets does get tired of modeling.
As usual, the SBK Fast Dates Calendar shoot weekend wasn't normal without a few dramas to make it even more exciting. Before even flying over to England from Los Angeles, I had been having difficulties for months trying to get the organization staff at FGSport confirm the media credentials me and the models needed to get access to the bikes and work on the starting grid for the race. I finally gave up with just 2 days left, and with a direct E-mail to FGSport president and good friend Paolo Flammini, I got an Email back from his new right hand man and another friend, new FGSport Special Projects Manager Paolo Ciabatti, the former marketing Director at Ducati Corse. All the necessary full Media and Photo Credentials with grid passes, including VIP staff paddock parking would be waiting for us at Will Call.
Fast Dates Calendar Shoots
Pit Board Editorial Pinup
Calendars in America - an American Double Standard? But it's hardly anything new. Victoria's Secret lingerie commercials have been running onprime time TV programs Plus the Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Shows have been regular broadcasts on E! television for 10 years. And let's
not overlook the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue is the
biggest selling magazine in America with its sexy swimsuit covers,
and that it sits on all public newstands for some 3 months. And
that the Victoria's Secrect Catalog is mailed out more households
in America than any magazine. Or the simple fact that at the checkout counter of every supermarket in America is a rack of young women's magazines from Cosmopolitan to Shape to Glamour featuring some sexy young supermodel in a full frontal bikini swimsuit shots similar to the one of Heidi Klum above, compelling you to pick her up and bring her home. We are also glad to see all the refreshing and sexist new men's mainstream magazines now available in America from Maxim to FHM to Stuff featuring some well known, sexy bikini clad actress or model. Things are slowly changing for the better, although certainly not as close to the European standard of acceptability which includes nudity in many mainstream newspapers, on roadside billboards, in magazines and on TV, both in advertising and editorial features. But this
American acknowledgement of the normal sexuality of human kind
still remains taboo in some elements of our society, including
parts of the motorcycle industry, particulary when it comes to
pinup calendars like those published by FastDates.com and
our competitors. Did you know that 2 major bike brand U.S. distributors
and their factory race teams will not allow us to photograph their
bikes with even a fully clothed model? While their more prominent
counterparts -the factory World Superbike Castrol Honda and Corona
Suzuki World Superbike teams welcome us to photograph their bikes
for the Fast Dates Racebike Pinup Calendar each year. Europe is an even more open culture than America, and the Ducati Corse factory race team in Italy makes their bikes available for a nude racebike pinup calendar. While the factory Yamaha Superbike team last sason even used topless umbrella girls on the starting grid of the World Superbikes races! While America still remains burried in arcahic morality and stupidity supported by idiotic and vague laws. Where one person can choose what is offensive or acceptable to them and have their very narrow views over ride the law and the majority who are not offended. For example, more than one of our biggest FastDates.com calendar distributors has been threatened with lawsuits by one of their female employees who found it "offensive" to see a pinup calendar hanging up at work (probably in the private office or work cubicle of a male employee -never mind the model was in a halter top and cutoff jeans like you would see on girls every day at the local mall). The distributors' attorneys then advised them to ban all pinup posters and calendars from company walls, and then required that all pinup calendars sold by the distributor should be wrapped in plain black opaque plastic wrappers like an adult porno magazine. They couldn't chance a female employee in their warehouse being offended by having to pull one of our calendars off the warehouse shelf and place it in an outgoing dealer order - and then in turn sue the distributor for millions of dollars in "mental stress". That's bad enough. But what really gets us mad is this "double standard" in America. A picture of a pretty girl in a swimsuit or lingerie is -if it appears on the cover of a magazine in a public place (supermarket, newstand, office waiting lounge) or in a Victoria's Secret advertisement or feature program on National television it's perfectly acceptable. Even most liquor stores in America feature swimsuit pinup advertising posters from major beer companies like Budweiser and Miller. But take that exact same picture of Heidi Klum from the Victoria's Sercret advertising campaigns plastered in 2-page ad spreads every magazine, on Hollywood and Times Square billboards, and on national television -and hang it up in the work place and you are fucked. Just like Snap-on Tools can no longer print their once famous pinup calendarshung up in garages by mechanics without the threat of being sued by an offended female customer and her greedy attorney. Why is it acceptable to look at Heidi Klum in sexy lingerie on the billboard outside your office window, or on the cover of the FHM magazine in the office waiting room, but you and your company can be sued if that same picture is hanging up on your office wall? What about a celebrity calendar of Brad Pitt or Britnery Spears? Yes, that can be deemed offensive as well. Go figure. Take Me Back to: Contents Page • Pit Lane News • Members Corner Calendar
Kittens, The Paddock Garage, Screensavers, Iron & Lace Garage
Many of our Calendar
Kittens can also be seen at Playboy's website... |
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Gemma fluffs her hair as we get ready to shoot Max Biaggi's Alstare Corona Suzuki GSXR1000 World Superbike in front of the Pit Garages at Brands Hatch.
