Motor Sport collection: The Finnish line is in sight
Fans of motor racing art, artefacts and ephemera will find a huge range, including these collectibles, at the Motor Sport shop – motorsportmagazine.com/shop
Editor’s choice
Kimi Räikkönen signed items
When it comes to hunting down the finest scribbles in motor sport, Signature Store doesn’t shy away. Recently the team travelled to Switzerland for an exclusive signing with the Iceman himself, Kimi Räikkönen. The result is a run of limited-edition signed items from the Finnish Formula 1 world champion, who also notably turned his hand to rallying, NASCAR and most things in between across his career. Also, did you know not only is Räikkönen the most successful Finnish F1 driver of all time with 21 grand prix wins, but he’s also the only driver to win across the V10, V8 and V6 hybrid eras – a record spanning 15 years. Star of the show has to be the full-scale replica helmet from his world title-winning season with Ferrari in 2007. With intricate detailing and signed on the dark visor, it’s a must-have for any collector. Also available are full and half-scale replica endplates from that year’s Ferrari F2007 racer. Signed helmet, £3995, Ferrari endplates, from £195
F1 Las Vegas GP poster
You can always trust Automobilist to come up with something special, and their latest track tribute poster nails it. This one focuses on the new Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit, but features the brilliant twist of showing the track layout depicted on an overhead map, with the circuit detailed in gold foil against a textured grey backdrop. It makes for something really striking, showing how the sport integrated itself within the city. A welcome break from the norm. £113
Motor Sport 2024 calendar
As you read this, we’ve likely only just ticked over into February so there’s still plenty of time to grab yourself one of our epic 2024 wall calendars, now at a bargain price! It’s A2 in size, with each month depicting a different legendary era from the 100 years Motor Sport has documented GP racing. Now just under £20… it almost makes it worth skipping January. £19.99
Ferrari Hypercar gear
Both the WEC and Le Mans 24 Hours are set for their biggest ever years in 2024, with the new Hypercar rules coming to fruition. This season 19 cars will fight it out for overall honours, from big-hitters like BMW, Alpine and Lamborghini joining Toyota, Cadillac, Porsche and Ferrari. Seems a good time to kit yourself out with some suitable trackside threads then, so take your pick from quarter-zip fleeces, polos, caps and tees… Le Mans is in June after all. From £35
100 Years of Legends, official Le Mans book
If you’ve spent the last year in hibernation, a cave or some form of sporting limbo, you might have missed the fact that the Le Mans 24 Hours turned 100 last year. Ahh, the memories. This official book tracks the history of the world’s greatest race, telling its most fascinating stories, defining moments and the evolution of both the event itself and the technology within. £70
About the Motor Sport shop
With hundreds of special and unique racing-themed products, and many new items regularly added, the Motor Sport shop is aimed at both serious and casual collectors with a wide range of prices to suit your budget. Visit motorsportmagazine.com/shop
The expert view
Safety in numbers
I was recently lucky enough to enjoy a lunch with one of the great crash helmet aficionados, Bill Vero, and it proved enlightening as I discovered some fascinating history behind the creation, and advance, of early helmet technology.
I’d acquired a 1950s Herbert Johnson helmet, below, and wanted some info on it. But I also wanted to know how we went from those cork-lined helmets to the full-face lightweights we have now.
Bill is a third-generation helmet creator, following his father William Vero and grandfather Everitt W Vero, who founded Everoak in 1878. Everoak worked with the great Herbert Johnson hatters in London. ‘HJ’ was famous for providing helmets to legends like Stirling Moss and Graham Hill, but actually the business was a military hattery by trade. When HJ began receiving orders for crash helmets, it would outsource production to Everoak and William would return to his Dulwich factory to create the cork-lined helmets that became commonplace in the ’50s.
Corkers ruled until the end of the decade when Top Tek began pioneering the use of Styrofoam, which it said lined crash helmets more efficiently. At the time there was outrage as cork is a natural material and is deformable, meaning if it took a hit it could bounce back; Styrofoam was single-use. Regardless, Top Tek began churning out these helmets. Phil Hill became the first driver to win the world championship with a Top Tek helmet in 1961. Bell bought the company, took the tech and rolled it out on a mass scale, creating the Bell Star and changing the game forever. Crash helmets went from being a bespoke crafted item to a mass-produced one.
Crash helmet history is fascinating. The Auto-Cycle Union made helmets compulsory for the Isle of Man TT in 1914, and Goldie Gardner was an advocate for car racing in the ’20s. Dan Gurney was the first F1 driver to use a full-face helmet in the 1968 German GP, and helmet development hasn’t stopped since.
Andrew Francis is director at The Signature Store, thesignaturestore.co.uk