Rizla Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista and Troy Lee Designs are showing their on-going support for the relief efforts following the tragic events in Japan earlier this year, by holding an auction for the actual custom-painted Shoei helmet he wore during the USGP race in Laguna Seca. This beautiful paint-scheme has been created by Troy Lee Designs’ Japanese designer Maki Ushiroyama and features all the flags of the 14 countries on the MotoGP calendar, with pride of place going to the Japanese ‘Nisshoki’ or ‘Hinomaru’ – as it is more commonly known – on the top of the helmet. The colours of all nations is to represent the global support for Japan following the tragedy in March and an added message in Japanese translates as ‘Ganbare Nippon’, which literally means ‘Cheer up Japan, do your best and don’t give up!’ This is the actual helmet worn and raced at Laguna by Bautista and features some road-rash after he low-sided his Suzuki GSV-R while battling for a top-six finish. The helmet is also personally signed by Bautista and Troy Lee. You can follow the auction on eBay by following the link at the bottom of this story and bid on this exclusive helmet. There is also a video from TLD showing the process of producing this fantastic design. The bidding for this special helmet began today, Thursday September 1st and will run for 10 days, ending Sunday September 11th, with all the proceeds from this one-off auction going directly to the Japanese Red Cross Society. Any other donations received through your country’s Red Cross or Red Crescent Society will be used for Japanese Red Cross relief and early recovery activities, for example, for the purchase of a set of electric household appliances for people moving into purpose-built temporary houses and the provision of specially-equipped beds for elderly people who require special care. As of August 18th, JPY 40.6 billion (over €370,000,000) has been donated through National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world. Please note that because the helmet was worn by Bautista at Laguna Seca, where he crashed out of the race, there is visible damage to the shell. The helmet should only be used for display, not to be worn as protection for motorcycle riding, since the integrity is now compromised. Go to the auction here: ~http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250885006940#ht_611wt_1167~