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LEON HASLAM SHOWS OFF HIS NEW PAINT SCHEME IN A STRIKING WORLD SUPERBIKE PREVIEW HELD AT THE SILVERSTONE CIRCUIT.

25/07/2012

BMW Motorrad Motorsport’s star British rider Leon Haslam recently joined forces with Silverstone, host of the upcoming round of the FIM Superbike World Championship on 03-05 August 2012, to be a part of a rather unusual, but very striking, photoshoot as a preview to the action-packed event.

The Northamptonshire circuit wanted to do something truly special ahead of the British round of the FIM Superbike World Championship and so enlisted the help of local legend Leon Haslam and the double World Body Painting Champion, Carolyn Roper.

In a three-hour long body painting session, Carolyn painstakingly recreated Leon’s iconic team leathers using paints on his torso and arms; from the familiar BMW Motorrad Motorsports white, blue and red, through to the sponsors’ logos and even protective armour, fastenings and stretch panels.

The final, astonishingly realistic results were captured in a photoshoot at Silverstone featuring Leon and a BMW S 1000 RR Sport in the Motorsport colours. Carolyn’s outstanding work was immortalised by one of the UK’s leading portrait photographers, Gary Prior, who has worked with some of the biggest names in sport, from David Beckham, Lionel Messi and Jonny Wilkinson to Andy Murray, Jenson Button and Maria Sharapova.

Gary was tasked with translating the remarkable effect of Roper’s body painting into stylish portrait pictures. His creativity, imagination and effective use of lighting were essential in capturing a unique and striking set of pictures.

Leon Haslam, BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider, said: “It was frustrating having to stand in one place for three hours and not see what was going on, but I couldn’t believe it when Carolyn had finished applying the paint and I was finally allowed to look in the mirror. The body paint was unbelievably realistic and the attention to detail, right down to the sponsors’ badges, was incredible. Carolyn is amazingly talented.

“It wasn’t raining so we walked over to the garage for the photo shoot with Gary; we got some pretty funny looks on the way over. The shoot was good fun though; and Gary’s images are fantastic. All-in-all, it was a great experience. I’m always up for trying new things, so was more than happy to say ‘yes’ when Silverstone approached me with the idea.”

To see the photographs from the shoot, please click here .

Click here to see a time-lapse film of Leon’s BMW Motorrad Motorsport leathers being painted.

For high resolution images please visit BMW Press Club at www.press.bmwgroup.com.