Is it time to replace your race suit? Let’s get you track-ready. How To Choose A Motorsport Helmet: The Complete Buying Guide
We sell helmets from about £310 to well past £2,000, and the honest headline is that the cheapest one on that list passes exactly the same homologation as the dearest. So the buying question is not which helmet is safest. It is which helmet suits your car, your class and how long you spend in it.
This page is the whole decision in one place, in the order the decisions actually arrive. There are five of them and only two are difficult. Each section links out to the detailed guide where there is one, so use this as the map and dive in where you need to.
Five decisions, in order
Work through these in sequence and the shortlist builds itself.
One, the standard your class accepts. Almost always solved by buying a current helmet, because everything in our current range carries FIA 8859-2024. Where it matters is if you already own a helmet, and the standards guide covers which approvals Motorsport UK accept and the one that expires this December.
Two, full face or open face. Decided by the car and by whether you need a co-driver intercom. Next section.
Three, the shell material. This is where your money goes, and what it buys is weight.
Four, intercom provision. A rally helmet with wiring built in is a different product from a circuit helmet, and buying the wrong one is expensive to undo.
Five, size. Last, and non-negotiable: measure your head, buy against the chart on the listing, and check the fit properly when it lands. The sizing guide is the ten minute version.
Full face or open face
Start with the car. In a closed car with a cage, either works and it comes down to preference and what your class asks for. In an open car, and that includes open top clubmans, single seaters and anything without a roof over your head, the full face is the one we would push you toward, and we have written about exactly that in the context of the Bell HP range.
Rally is where the open face earns its keep. A stage crew talking on an intercom all day, in a hot car, with a co-driver reading notes, is the classic open face case: better airflow, easier to eat and drink on a road section, and a microphone boom that is simpler to place. That is why the open face range is full of rally names, the Stilo Venti4 Trophy Jet, the Bell Mag Rally and the OMP J-Rally among them.
Circuit racing tends the other way. A full face for a track day driver is the default, and every current full face we sell has provision for the tethers that connect to an FHR.
The open face rally answer
The Sparco Flux RJ is the value entry at £309.60 inc VAT and the Bell Mag is £331.20. Move up and the Stilo Venti4 Trophy Jet at £378 brings the intercom provision the stage crews want. All three are FIA 8859-2024.
- Better airflow on long road sections
- Easier intercom and microphone placement
- Popular with rally crews and marshals
- From £309.60 inc VAT
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From £315.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £276.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £258.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £519.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £415.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £337.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
The full face circuit answer
The Sparco Stealth RF starts the full face range at £404.40 inc VAT, the Bell GT6 Sport sits at £498 and the Bell R7 Sport at £622.80. Any of the three is a proper circuit helmet; the difference up the range is shell material and weight.
- The default for circuit and track day use
- The answer in an open car
- FHR post provision throughout
- From £404.40 inc VAT
What the shell is made of
Three materials, one price ladder, and the thing you are buying as you climb it is grams. A lighter helmet is less to carry on your neck for a two hour stint and less load on your neck when the car is working, which is why endurance and rally drivers care about it far more than a track day driver doing twenty minute sessions.
| Shell | Where it sits | Example from our range | Price inc VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fibreglass | Entry and mid. The workhorse | Sparco Stealth RF, Sparco Flux RJ | £309.60 to £404.40 |
| Composite | Mid to upper. Carbon blended with glass | Stilo ST6 FN, Bell GT6 Rally | £800.40 to £936.00 |
| Carbon | Top. Lightest for the money | Sparco Stealth RF Carbon | £717.60 |
Read that table sideways and you will spot the useful bit: the Sparco Stealth RF and the Stealth RF Carbon are the same helmet in two materials, £404.40 against £717.60. That £313 is the clearest price of a carbon shell we can show you, and whether it is worth it depends entirely on how long you sit in the car.
Garreth’s line on it: for twenty minute track sessions, spend the money on the fit and put the change toward gloves. For a rally season or an endurance seat, buy the lighter shell and you will notice it on the last stage.
Intercom, or no intercom
This one catches people out. Helmets are sold either wired for communication or not, and it shows on the listing as the Communication attribute. A circuit helmet reads Not Included and a rally helmet reads Intercom.
If you rally, or you run a co-driver, or your class needs pit communication, buy the helmet that is built for it. Retrofitting a kit into a helmet that was not designed for one is possible on some models and awkward on others, and it is never as tidy as the factory job.
The compatibility question that follows is which intercom system, and the answer depends on your make of helmet and your terminal. We wrote up the Sparco and Terratrip pairing after being asked it enough times, and the same logic applies across brands. Tell us the intercom you run and we will match the helmet to it.
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From £780.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £667.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
The ladder, entry to top
Everything above in one table. Prices include VAT and were correct on 12 August 2026, and every helmet here is FIA 8859-2024, with the Stilo and Bell composites carrying Snell SA2020 as well.
| Helmet | Type | Shell | Comms | Price inc VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparco Flux RJ | Open face | Fibreglass | Not included | £309.60 |
| Bell Mag | Open face | Composite | Not included | £331.20 |
| Stilo Venti4 Trophy Jet | Open face | Composite | Intercom ready | £378.00 |
| Sparco Stealth RF | Full face | Fibreglass | Not included | £404.40 |
| Bell GT6 Sport | Full face | Composite | Not included | £498.00 |
| Bell R7 Sport | Full face | Composite | Not included | £622.80 |
| Sparco Stealth RF Carbon | Full face | Carbon | Not included | £717.60 |
| Stilo ST6 FN Composite | Full face | Composite | Intercom | £800.40 |
| Bell GT6 Rally | Full face | Composite | Intercom | £936.00 |
Visors, posts and the rest
Three things worth settling before you check out, because they are cheaper to sort now than later.
FHR posts. Every current FIA helmet has provision for them but they are not always fitted, and the clip system has to match your device. The FHR guide covers the whole pairing, and if you buy both from us we will make sure they connect.
Visors and tear-offs. Not every helmet family takes tear-offs, and the post spacing differs between them. We went through the whole range and published which of our helmets take them, which will save you an order that does not fit. Open face lids are their own conversation, since several families take no visor at all.
Junior and karting. Different rules entirely. Under 15, Cadet and Bambino drivers need CMR or CMS approved helmets with a weight limit, so do not shop the car list for a junior. We compared three CMR helmets and what the extra money buys if that is where you are.
Common questions
Is a more expensive helmet safer?
Can I use a motorcycle helmet on track?
Full face or open face for rally?
What is the difference between composite and carbon?
Do I need an intercom helmet for track days?
How long will a helmet last?
What we would buy
Track days in a closed car, on a budget: the Sparco Stealth RF at £404.40 and spend the difference on a proper fit. Circuit racing regularly: the Bell R7 Sport at £622.80, which is the full face we sell most for good reason. Rally with a co-driver: an intercom helmet from the off, either the Venti4 Trophy Jet if you want the open face or the Bell GT6 Rally if you want the coverage. Long stints anywhere: buy the lightest shell you can justify.
And whichever you pick, get the size right, because a £900 helmet in the wrong size is worse than a £310 one in the right size.
Final thoughts: come and try two of them
Shell shapes differ between brands, and the only way to know which suits your head is to wear two back to back for ten minutes. The showroom is by appointment, so ring 0115 9893488 and we will have a few out ready.
The full range is under motorsport helmets, split into full face and open face. Start with the sizing guide if you have not measured yet.
