The Sun and Moon Helmet
Valentino Rossi had mixed succes in his debut Grand Prix season and finished in 9th place overall.
Despite clearly being a new talent to watch, Rossi also stood out for his unique sense of design. In the 1996 125cc Championship, racing for Aprilia, Rossi firmly established the Sun and Moon motif as his design trademark. The sun and moon would continue to feature in almost all of Rossi’s motorcyle helmets, but this first helmet is where it all began.
Aldo Drudi designed the graphics and the helmet featured a huge red sun on the right hand side with a cartoon face at it’s center. The yellow background on the right of the helmet fades to black at the centre and the night time design then dominates the left hand side of the helmet featuring a huge cresent moon. Rossi’s number 46 is placed in the center of the helmet just above the visor. Rossi has often said that the sun and moon reflect the two sides of his personality.
The back of the helmet featured a cartoon condom and Japanese lettering that translated as “Go Rossifumi”. Rossifumi was one of Valentino’s very first nicknames and was a reference and tribute to fellow rider Norifumi Abe.
Image Gallery of the AGV Sun and Moon Helmet:
