Story Behind Valentino Rossi's Helmet Designs and Some of Our Favorite ones..!

Well, its time for San Marino GP at Misano, the time of the year when our Doctor reveals his most quirky Helmet design every year. Valentino Rossi is known for his bold and colorful personality – but he’s equally known for his many bold and colorful helmets, all of which have unique meanings to the world’s most loved road racer. 

And yes, he has done it again. The 9 times world champion has once again shown signs of his undeniable originality and sense of the show. 

So, what has he delighted us with this time? 

A helmet design with a lot of humor: A blister of 4 Viagra Pills with one missing with a message in front "Doppia 46 mg" meaning double 46 milligrams, denoting the double heading at his home GP.

So, what does that mean? Not sure, still waiting for the revelation. Does it denote that Yamaha needs to boost their performance? That's what Viagra is for, right? Or is it a message for Vale himself....!!!! (Also read: San Marino GP: What to expect?)

Only Vale or time can tell, but in the meanwhile let's take a look at some of out Favorite Helmet designs by the GOAT in last few years:

The "Shark" Helmet:

One of Rossi’s more eccentric Misano designs, this one, released before the 2015 round, features a large, intimidating blue cartoon shark coming up behind a small but very determined looking yellow fish. In 2015 Rossi arrived in Misano in the lead, but hotly pursued by his rivals, Lorenzo, Marquez and Pedrosa (all Spaniards) trying to beat the native Italian in his home race. This design represents his dogged determination to stay ahead of his tough competition!

The "Wish You were Here" Helmet

One of the most heartfelt Rossi designs, this one features a design heavily inspired by the album cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” The design, on his 2013 Misano helmet, was a tribute to his friend and fellow MotoGP racer Marco Simoncelli, who was killed in a crash while racing Sepang in 2011. Like Rossi, Simoncelli’s hometown is also not far from the Misano circuit, which was renamed in honor of Simoncelli after his death.

The "SoleLuna" Helmet

One of the most iconic Rossi designs, Soleluna (which translates to “sun and moon” features a large sun wrapping over the helmet from the front, and meeting a crescent moon on the back, and has been Rossi’s primary helmet since returning to Yamaha in 2013. A sun and moon are often found on Rossi’s helmets, but this design is most well known for making them the centerpiece of the design. It comes in both Corsa and Pista versions, but the flagship Pista graphic adds in the Monster Energy logos on each side, making it an exact replica of the one Rossi actually races in.

The "Double Face" Helmet:

This 2013 winter test design is one of Rossi’s more whimsical ones, which takes the iconic Soleluna design and reverses it, placing the moon in the front and the sun at the rear. But that’s not the weird part – the weird part is that Rossi had a photorealistic image of his own face looking through the visor placed across the back, giving the effect that he is staring right at the other riders behind him!

The "Mirror/Solar Energy" Helmet:

One of Rossi’s most striking designs ever, this helmet, released for the 2015 Mugello round, features the entire crown in a bright, reflective chrome finish, with images of solar panels along the sides, and a “power meter” with indicator bars rising up the back.
Each indicator bar represents a qualification or practice round leading up to the race, and is meant to show Rossi’s rising energy as race day approaches. The mirrored finish is meant to reflect the energy of Rossi’s devoted fans back at themselves, completing a “circuit” of energy that Rossi thrives on, and it also features images of Rossi’s beloved bulldogs (which are often worked into his helmet designs.)

The "Turtle" Helmet:

The Turtle, or Tartaruga (in Italian), is one of Rossi’s more humorous Mugello designs, but also one with a lot of significance for him. Turtles are slow, and Rossi, who had not been particularly fast in the 2013 season leading up to Mugello, used this comical turtle design to poke fun at himself for falling behind. He was facing some very stiff competition from the rest of the “big four” that year – Lorenzo, Pedrosa, and Marquez – represented by a pack of four stick figures running along, with the yellow one struggling to keep up, on the chinbar.

But besides the obvious “slowness” reference, turtles actually also hold a lot of significance for Rossi – a turtle was Rossi’s first mascot when he raced minimoto as a child, borrowed from another legendary Italian motorsports hero. Rossi also has a turtle tattoo on his hip to commemorate his ironic “sprit animal.”

The "Face" Helmet:

At 2AM the Wednesday before the 2008 Mugello round, Rossi and his long-time helmet designer, Aldo Drudi, could not come up with an idea for a design for his much-anticipated Mugello helmet (Rossi even suggested that the helmet be blank white, saying “sorry, we couldn’t come up with anything!”) After talking to Rossi about what racing Mugello was like, Rossi described one blind corner after the circuit’s long straight, and he made this shocked face to describe it. Drudi was so entertained by the goofy expression that he decided to make it the centerpiece of the design – and the result was one of the funniest and most famous and Rossi lids of all time!

The "Donkey" Helmet:

Rossi embarrassed himself when crashing out of the 2009 Indy round, losing 25 points in the process – one might say “he made an ass out of himself.” To make light of the situation, he made an ass out of himself, literally, on his 2009 Misano helmet, with the same “face” design he wore there the year before, but with his face turned into that of a donkey. The goofy-looking donkey has Rossi’s actual eyes, and the words “The Donkey” are found in the same font and location where “The Doctor” used to be. Like The Turtle, this helmet is one of the most obvious ways Rossi has made fun of himself, and as a result, is another fan favorite!

The "Hayden-Totti" Helmet

In 2017, during the Mugello race, Valentino presented another graphic, very emotional, reminding Nicky Hayden that he had recently died in a bicycle training.
In fact, Valentino wanted to pay tribute to Francesco Totti, the ex-player of Rome who had just announced his retirement and who is intimate with Vale. Hence the caricature on the top of the helmet and the legend that “there is only one captain” on the back. But with the accident of Hayden, Rossi at the last minute decided to incorporate the 69 on the sides of the chin. A very curious design that you have available also at the top of the AGV range.

So which one of the Doctor's lid is your favorite??

Courtesy: bikebandit.com