Maverick Viñales explains emotional #MyLid in Catalunya

It’s difficult to pin down exactly when motorcycle racers turned bland-coloured and (frankly) basic head protection into a visible and creative form of identity but certainly icons like Barry Sheene quickly twigged that painting his name in large letters on the back of the helmet and sticking a Donald Duck portrait on the top of his cranium was a way to stand out from the pack in the early 1970s. The Londoner was the biggest mainstream example of how riders could start to use helmets as emblems, call-signs or even billboards. The progress of art, customisation and graphics progressed to the point where something like a Monster Energy helmet is instantly recognisable around the world as a mark of status.