“It's a bit of the +mojo+ of the riders, what really represents them”: an essential element of protection for MotoGP riders, the helmet has become a standard to assert one's style and stand out from one's opponents.
The helmet is so important in the premier category of motorcycling that drivers even come with it during press conferences and display it next to them like a trophy, which is not the case in Formula 1 for example.
“It’s the most personal element of a pilot, much more than the suit. It’s the only thing that I can personalize so it’s very important for me,” explains Frenchman Fabio Quartararo to AFP. .
“Every year I think we make more and more beautiful helmets, more and more personalized, special editions, these are things that I like. I think it's a super personal element and which embodies really the image of the driver”, adds the 2021 world champion.
Nicknamed “El Diablo”, the Niçois proudly displays a devil's head on the upper part of his helmet and his personalized favorite number 20 with devil horns.
– “Fashionistas” –
Over time, the helmet has almost become a fashion accessory, especially among the younger generation of pilots.
“Some are real 'fashionistas' so they want their helmet to be trendy. But above all the pilots want it to be as different from the others as possible. They want the helmet to best express who they are, they really want to convey something through him”, tells AFP Michaël Rivoire, who has worked in the paddock for 16 years for the Japanese brand Shoei.
“It is therefore important to stick as closely as possible to their requests. There are drivers who know exactly what they want, who manage to transcribe it very well. For example, Marc Marquez, with whom I have worked for fifteen years , always knows what he wants, how it should be designed, but this is not the case for everyone,” adds the talkative Frenchman, one of the personalities of the paddock.
Michaël Rivoire therefore spends hours during the off-season discussing with the drivers, their teams and thus transmitting their wishes as precisely as possible to the designers and painters responsible for creating what could be compared to a unique work of art.
– Crazy requests –
One of the riders he teams up in MotoGP, however, saves him precious time: the Italian Fabio Di Giannantonio creates all his designs himself and therefore creates all the decoration of his helmets, a personal source of pride.
Sometimes, Michaël Rivoire, who also takes care of young Moto2 and Moto3 riders, has to refuse certain crazy requests. “Once, the reasons were too religious and we are not here to proselytize. Another wanted a naked woman on his helmet so it was not possible. Once, even if it was ugly, we accepted at the request of a driver who wanted to put a paella on his helmet during the last race in Valencia” he lists.
Some pilots, however, remain more conventional regarding the design of their helmets, which are mainly made of fiberglass, weigh around 1.4 kg and cost almost 1000 euros.
“Before I attached a lot of importance to design, much less now because everything goes too quickly and you have to change decor often to try to make sales,” explains to AFP the experienced Frenchman Johann Zarco, who is competing his eighth season in MotoGP and works with a French brand, Shark.
“I am happy when my helmet is beautiful but I know that it will not affect my result and with time, you remove superstitions,” he emphasizes.
