Niki Lauda's burned helmet for sale

Is anything related to motorsport good for sale? The fashion for “memorabilia” has continued for several years. The price of suits and gloves that belonged to former circuit glory is on the rise, although nothing beats the price of a helmet speckled with midges or shards of gravel, a clear sign of Grand Prix use. Price.

But when said object touches a tragedy, the numbers skyrocket. This was the case for the passenger compartment cover of the Mercedes 300 SLR by Pierre Levegh catapulted towards the public of 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955, sold as part of the Le Mans Classic last year for the modest sum of 34 euros. This week, on the sidelines of the Miami Grand Prix on May 112, Bonhams will present a (very) special helmet. It is not in good condition, and for good reason: it was licked by the flames during the accident of the Ferrari 312 T2 at the start of the German Grand Prix, August 1, 1976. The helmet, Italian brand AGV, has changed hands several times in recent decades, but has always remained in a private circle. The son of the three-time world champion, Lukas Lauda, ​​denies not respecting the memory of his father (who died in May 2019) and brings to his attention part of the funds from the sale which will be donated to Unicef, according to the wishes from the Austrian family. “We are delighted that our father's legacy continues to provide help and assistance to those who need it most,” he explains. The challenges Unicef ​​faces in providing humanitarian aid to children around the world are enormous, and if we can make a small contribution to improve the chances of others, we are happy to do so. » Noble intention therefore, even if the exact portion dedicated to Unicef ​​has not been specified!

Niki Lauda's helmet hides a unique story. The leader of Scuderia Ferrari did not want to start this contested event on a Nordschleife which he considered too dangerous. Seeing that his call for a boycott was going unheeded, he started from pole position. It was on the second lap that the accident occurred. Under the violence of the impact on the fast left before the Bergwerk bend, the AGV X1 helmet was torn off.

An analysis will highlight hardware design flaws. The strap held well, unlike the strap mounting bolts on the helmet. At a time when pilot protection was still a relatively new field, there was only one shell size for this helmet. The different sizes were achieved by simply adjusting the padding inside the helmet. Niki Lauda had a small head and therefore required a lot of padding. Additionally, the chinstrap was at the front of the helmet, so when the helmet hit the headrest, the padding compressed enough for the chinstrap to come off his chin.

It was following this accident, which left him seriously injured, that Niki Lauda then sought to improve the safety of drivers' equipment. The helm of the Austrian legend should sell for around 47 to 57 euros. Better to fall back on one of the other helmets in the collection, like that of Jean Alesi in 000, estimated at “only” 1995 euros! A hell of a deal, and what's more, it's in better condition...

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