AGV reveals Rossi’s winter testing helmet

Just a few weeks after the conclusion of the 2017 MotoGP World Championship, engines and spotlights are turned back on at the Sepang circuit. Italian helmet manufacturer AGV revealed a special helmet worn by Valentino Rossi during the Yamaha MotoGP winter tests from Nov. 27-28. The AGV helmet features a livery inspired by the symbols and colors of popular Mexican tradition.

The famous skulls 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 truly unique.

“Huichol art immediately intrigued me, because it uses many of my symbols, like the sun and moon or the turtle,” explained Valentino Rossi. “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 [Degli Innocenti of Drudi Performance] in particular; 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.”