El Nuevo y Elegante Casco del Doctor

Valentino Rossi gets a sweet new helmet with a Mexican flair

Valentino Rossi is a man who enjoys a flashy helmet. In the racing world, The Doctor is well known for the colorful helmet graphics he sports during the fall testing season. This week’s session at Sepang, Malaysia, sees Rossi outfitted with an AGV Pista GP R lid inspired by the symbols and colors of popular Mexican tradition. The famous skulls in the Huichol style, decorated with geometric shapes and the artistry of colored beads piqued the Doctor’s curiosity during a recent holiday in Mexico, providing the inspiration for this livery. Its creation, preceded by careful research into the original methods used to produce these works, is unique.

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“Huichol art immediately intrigued me, because it uses many of my symbols, like the sun and moon or the turtle” Rossi said. “We have tried to recreate the effect of the beads that the Mexicans use to bring color and shape to these objects, but to do so with a Valentino Rossi twist. The helmet looks really good, Aldo Drudi did a great job, as did Davide in particular." (Editor’s note: Davide Degli Innocenti, graphics and coloring manager at Drudi Performance). "He created the beads with a brush, one by one. We might say that the helmet has become a work of art, something we’ve never seen before”.

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An artisan approach that ensures each of these limited-edition helmets is unique. According to the company, The AGV Pista GP R is the most protective helmet ever developed, designed to offer world championship riders maximum performance during a race. A perfect blend of protection against impact, comfort, and aerodynamic performance combined with integrated ventilation and hydration systems with an incomparably wide visual field.

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In the early 50s, AGV produced the first 100 percent fiberglass open-face helmet. A few years later, taking advantage of the experience acquired in creating a special helmet to run the flying start kilometer on skis, AGV developed the first fiberglass full-face helmet. Since the beginning, AGV’s history has been directly linked to riders who have made motorcycle history, including Giacomo Agostini, Barry Sheene, Kenny Roberts, Johnny Ceccotto, Angel Nieto, Marco Lucchinelli, Franco Uncini, Randy Mamola, Loris Capirossi, Max Biaggi, Valentino Rossi, Marco Simoncelli and many others.

Editor's Note: The title is a Google translation of "The Doctor's Fancy New Helmet".