Helmet for Trackdays

[xvivalve]

Bought an open face motorcycle helmet from Lidl yesterday, it has limited TUV accreditation and also an "ECE-R 22.05" sticker on it. It was only £22!

Mate Dave reckons it won't pass scrutineering without an RAC pass badge on it. Is this correct?

[DavePoth]

Depends on the trackday I think, some are bound to be stricter than others. Certainly the rental helmets at castle combe are motorcycle ones. But I think some of the more professional trackdays will ask for an MSA approved helmet. I got an OMP Jet New Axis from Demon Tweeks which was the cheapest one they had, it's now gone up to £70 though.

[SprintV8]

Best think you can do with that Lidi lid is chuck it in the bin.
You'll be better off wearing a water melon.
Chances are you never have a crash but do you really what to take that risk.
Go and buy a proper RAC BSi kitemark helment.

Have a nice day now.
PS
PM me when your doing the track day.

From the 2009 MSA Rule Book:
Helmets bearing one of the following standards may be approved by the MSA:
FIA 8860-2004
SNELL SA 2005
SNELL SA 2000 (will be withdrawn 1/1/2010)
SFI Foundation 31, 1A 31, 2A,
BS 6658 Type A/FR
Hope that helps.
No mention of track day's.

[Mad Mart]

Never done a track day yet where they inspect your helmet! ooer!

Got mine from Merlin Motorsports at CC. MSA approved & was only £55. I don't think they're much more than that now.

[xvivalve]

Phil, I did hesitate when I looked for kitemarks etc and i worked on the basis that they couldn't sell a product such as this that wasn't good enough? Dave (biker) tells me that euro legislation has now eclipsed the BS, despite the BS being the better far more reaching test...?

You may be right, time for a refund!!

[DavePoth]

The old adage is "if you have a £10 head, buy a £10 helmet". That said, I still bought the cheapest one I could find.

I guess it just gets down to how seriously you are going to take the whole track day malarkey.

[trackerjack]

The old adage is "if you have a £10 head, buy a £10 helmet". That said, I still bought the cheapest one I could find.

I guess it just gets down to how seriously you are going to take the whole track day malarkey.

Where can I find a elmet for 50p then?

[richard4040]

This is the one myself and adam bought ages ago in lidl! havnt used it yet mind. My mate borrowed it for a photo shoot though!


rich

[zombeh]

MSV are apparently starting to insist on MSA approved helmets for track day use now. Other circuit owners may follow. I have never had my helmet inspected at a track day.

So that's the stuff DF listed above, + bs6658 type A (which will be withdrawn in january).

Which is a bit of a pain as they're not requiring fireproof clothing so why require a fireproof helmet? Fireproof helmets are expensive and start at around £200, but as bell used to say if you've got a $10 head then put a $10 helmet on it.

I use a cheap open face ece 22.05 approved helmet for autotesting and a proper bs type A full face one for trackdays. Looks like I'm going to have to get a new one next year. There are substantial differences in the sort of impacts they are designed to resist and tested to, I would not want to be wearing an ece 22.05 bike helmet in a high speed car accident.

[DavePoth]

Google loves this forum. I typed "MSA Approved helmets" in just now to try and find the list, and this was link no. 12...

[Jimmie]

There's a large rule change in clothing & helmets due in 2010, as the MSA moves towards being inline with the FIA.

British Standard Type A will only be approved for the rest of this year, as Type A/FR will be required in 2010.
(There is also Snell 2005 standard which is FIA approved).

Bad news for racing & rally drivers as they need to buy new equipment. I know of a few motor clubs that been in contact with the MSA, their argument being that high cost of buying equipment will be bad for the sport in particularly difficult financial times.

A trackday isn't a race or rally, so imposing such regulations seems a harsh move.

I've just bought a Snell 2005 approved helmet, which meets all upcoming standards. Blumin' expensive.

I'm off to do a Sprint in less than 2 weeks.

[DavePoth]

Well that sucks, my helment isn't /FR.

I daresay some cheaper compliant ones will be made towards the end of this year, there's a good market for it and fire resistant foam is not really that expensive.

[xvivalve]

Full refund from Lidl...no quibble!

Sometimes my wallet rules my head....but won't protect it!

[gmsclassics]

Rules for racing (and generally covers trackdays too) in New Zealand are as follows. There are quite a number of the popular motorcycle brands that are covered by these. You should be okay with any of these for a trackday anywhere unless someone is stipulating tighter rules.

(3) Helmet Fit Test: The helmet must not be able to be removed by lifting the back of the
helmet. (Refer drawing 4.1.1)
(4) Approved Standards:
(a) International Events: Vehicle occupants shall wear protective helmets approved to any of the following standards:
Snell Foundation Inc;
Snell SA 2005
Snell SA 2000.
SFI Foundation Inc;
SFI Spec 31.1A (open face design), or
SFI spec 31.2A (closed face design)
British Standards Institute;
BS6658-85 type A/FR (red label), including all amendments.
(b) All Other Events: Vehicle occupants shall wear protective helmets approved to any of the standards detailed in (a) of this article or one of the following standards;
Snell Foundation Inc;
Snell SA 95
M95
M2000
M2005
SFI Foundation Inc;
SFI Spec 31.1 (open face design), or
SFI spec 31.2 (closed face design)
British Standards Institute;
BS6658-85 type A (blue label) including all amendments
European Standard (R22);
‘E’ Mark, 02, 03, 04 or 05 series.
Note: A production number, e.g. 05,12345, will immediately follow these identification numbers.
Australian Standard;
AS 1698
(5) Inspection: A Scrutineer or Technical Officer may check helmets at any time during an Event. Where there is doubt about the helmet’s fitness, the Chief Scrutineer or Technical Officer may impound the helmet for the duration of the Event.

Geoff

[mbellinger]

There is a big grey area around trackdays as they are not "motorsport" in the conventional sense. Racing, timing, competition and other such comparables are, strictly speaking, forbidden at such events.

I was discussing this with a retired MSA scrutineer yesterday. His view was that it will come down to the individual discretion of the track ownership/management.

Competitive events are totally different and the regulations Jimmie has put above are the ones to go buy.

I suppose roughly translated this means that if you have a prefectly good helmet that is not AR rated, and you ONLY intend to do track days, don't chuck it out just yet - you will be okay for at least another year and probably a bit longer as the new regs "bed in".

If you want to do anything else that is even vaguely competitive, get a new lid.