NEW ORLEANS, La. (October 7, 2012) - M1 PowerSports will be auctioning off AMA Pro SuperBike star Steve Rapp's Big Kahuna Bell Helmet to help six-year-old Ray-Anthony Bartholomew in his battle against Acute Myleocytic Leukemia. Ray went into remission after being diagnosed with AML, a fast-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow, in 2010. He recently relapsed and is undergoing Chemotherapy and set to receive a bone marrow transplant.
Ray-Anthony is an upbeat and happy little boy that loves race cars, Hannah Montana, singing, dancing, watching movies and spending time with his mother, Nika Scott. Nika is thankful for the help her son has received and has maintained a positive outlook. The wind and rain from Hurricane Issac damaged their house recently and they have been forced to move into a motel.
The family hoped to come out to NOLA Motorsports Park this weekend as guests of M1 PowerSports for the Triumph Big Kahuna New Orleans but Ray-Anthony is under strict orders from his doctor to stay away from crowds of people due to his weakened immune system. Since he was unable to attend our event and share his story, it's up to us to bring the Big Kahuna to him and lend a helping hand.
"We invite the community to assist the Bartholomew family in Ray-Anthony's race for life," said Cameron Gray, CEO of M1 PowerSports. "We have a custom-painted Bell helmet that will be worn by Steve Rapp in this afternoon's AMA Pro SuperBike race set to be auctioned off on eBay in aid of our six-year-old warrior. Overcoming this disease will be a challenge and we must use our resources to assist this boy's family. It feels amazing being able to contribute and help Ray-Anthony win his race for life. This helmet shows our support and faith we have in the success of the brave medical team fighting for Ray-Anthony's life at the Children's Hospital of New Orleans."
The auction will begin tonight, Sunday October 7 at 7:00 p.m. on the M1 PowerSports eBay page, located at http://stores.ebay.com/motoparts165. All of the proceeds from the auction of this beautifully-painted Bell helmet, worn and autographed by Steve Rapp, will go towards helping this young fan.
This weekend's Triumph Big Kahuna New Orleans presented by Dunlop Tire and LeoVince will close out the GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season at America's newest motorsports facility, NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, La. For more information and to get tickets, please visit http://www.m1powersports.com.
About M1 PowerSports, formerly M1 Entertainment: A Denver-based company, M1 PowerSports has been working in motorsports for over 16 years. Originally spawned from Daniels Corporation under the name FAST, the fledgling company was heavily involved in television production for car and motorcycle racing. With the birth of Speedvision, FAST morphed into Race Promotion Management (RPM) and is now operating as M1 PowerSports with many of the same staff still in place. We still sell advertising for Speed, sell merchandise under the brand Moto 1 and promote our own events, keeping us busy year-round! For more information, please call 303-377-3278 or email info@m1powersports.com.