During the pre-season test, the Aprilia racer claimed that he would be the first MotoGP rider whose helmet was equipped with the MIPS security system.
MIPS is a technology developed in 1996 by experts from the Royal Institute of Technology and neurosurgeon Hans von Holst. Its application can help reduce the rotation that the brain undergoes during an impact to the head.
This system works through a layer of low-friction material on the inside of the helmet, and is a technology commonly used in bicycle, ski and road motorcycle helmets.
MIPS (and other similar systems) will most likely be made mandatory on MotoGP helmets from 2027. Espargaro, who is passionate about cycling and trains frequently with professional teams, is already using them.
“This year I have used MIPS,” he said when asked about it. “I am the first rider to use it since the Portimao test.”
Espargaro, who changed his helmet brand to Japan’s Kabuto, explained that the Japanese manufacturer had started research on the system.
“Kabuto is developing it with MIPS this year, but what I understand is that in three years – I don’t know if in 2026 or 2027 – MIPS will be mandatory,” he reveals.
“This is mandatory on UCI (International Cycling Federation) cycling helmets, and I think this is a very good thing because impact to the brain is difficult to control even with very strong helmets.”
Thanks to his experience in MotoGP and as a cyclist, Espargaro has been selected to be an ambassador and to help develop its application to motorcycle helmets.
“Kabuto was the first brand in the world to introduce MIPS, and I am an ambassador for MIPS, a system that is like a plastic mesh that fits like a puzzle. All UCI helmets have had it for three or four years of cycling, which sits somewhere between shell and foam,” he explained.
“When a helmet receives a strong impact, what MIPS does is distribute the energy of the impact to minimize damage to the brain, which is often irreparable.
“I don’t know why it took us so long to get these systems in, because all the brands have them in bike helmets, these are something really interesting and they have an impact at lower speeds than us.
“I really like the idea that my helmet brand will be the first to introduce it to MotoGP and I will be the one to help them develop it.”
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During pre-season testing in Portugal last week, Gresini’s Fabio Di Giannantonio crashed very badly at the end of the first day. After undergoing an examination, he was declared unfit to go down on the last day.
The Italian rider pointed to the size of the gravel on the track at the Algarve track as the cause of his concussion and criticized the fact that the gravel had not been replaced with smaller gravel, as requested by the riders in the safety commission.
Between the MotoGP test and last weekend’s Moto2 test, the Portimao Circuit replaced a portion of the gravel, the first part of the water runoff, between 10 and 15 metres, according to a report from race management.
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