MotoGP short read – Misano special helmets

A lot of Italian riders like to make Misano a special race, creating designs to mark the occasion, most famously Valentino Rossi.

It is largely the VR46 Riders Academy, as well as Valentino Rossi himself who create special helmet designs for their home race, however it is not unusual to see other riders joining in on the tradition such as Enea Bastiaini and Fabio Di Giannantonio.

It stems way back to when Valentino Rossi would run special liveries at the Italian round at Mugello, eventually swapping the liveries for a special helmet design as Rossi felt that the livery was ‘bad luck’, crashing every time he used a special livery. This trend would continue when MotoGP announced that Misano would hold a race round, a track just 15 km from Tavullia, Rossi’s home. Over the years many Italian riders have followed suit, creating their own special designs for their home race on the Rimini coast.

Over the years we have seen some very special designs with the riders adding a personal touch to their designs, here are a few:

Marco Bezzecchi’s special ‘Bezwatch’ for Misano 2019

Fabio Di Giannantonio, Misano 2019

Valentino Rossi’s 2013 Marco Simoncelli tribute, ‘wish you were here’

We can expect more again this season, Aldo Drudi has posted the below photo to social media, confirming Enea Bastianini, Franco Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi.

What is your favourite design of all time? Let us know!

Featured images – AGV Helmets

www.effettidesigns.com

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