Four-figure price on Valentino Rossi helmet - from a low moment - at auction

A unique pre-season testing crash helmet used by Valentino Rossi in 2007 is set to go up for auction this week with MotoGP Authentics.

Valentino Rossi remains to this day one of MotoGP’s most iconic names, with the Italian legend winning nine world titles - seven of which in the premier class - in a career that spanned 1996 to 2021.

The former Honda, Yamaha and Ducati rider was known for his many one-off helmet designs and liveries.

The example up for auction is from the 2007 pre-season testing, when Rossi was riding for the factory Yamaha team.

Excalibur helmet belonging to Valentino Rossi at auction

The black helmet features Excalibur - the sword belonging to King Arthur in myth - running across the top of it, stamped with the Yamaha logo on the handle.

The helmet was meant as a statement from Rossi, following his defeat to Nicky Hayden in the 2006 championship battle - his first title loss after five successive seasons as the No.1.

The design was to represent Rossi’s ambitions to reclaim his throne in 2007 as the rightful MotoGP champion.

That didn’t pan out, however, as Ducati’s Casey Stoner went on to dominate the 2007 season for the first of his two world titles in the premier class.

Rossi also faced an investigation by Italian authorities over tax evasion, which was later settled in 2008.

The genuine test-used ‘Excalibur’ helmet will go up for auction on Tuesday 12 August and run for two weeks.

There is no estimation for how much the helmet will sell for, but a starting bid has been set at €5000.

Other items up for grabs in the latest MotoGP Authentics auction include a signed Aleix Espargaro crash-damaged test helmet and Jake Dixon’s 2024 Aspar Moto2 bike.

The Kalex machine was the bike on which Dixon won last year’s British Grand Prix and is currently up for a starting bid of €10,000.