Capirossi's Qatar helmet design explained

To mark his 300th grand prix start at Qatar last weekend, Loris Capirossi not only raced with the #300 on his Rizla Suzuki, but also had this special helmet design (also pictured below).

Painted by Troy Lee Designs, the helmet included the usual colours of Japan, Italy and Monaco - to represent the home of Suzuki, Capirossi's home country and his place of residence respectively - and also featured his bird design wearing a red scarf on the rear.

Uniquely, the designers and painters at Troy Lee also weaved their magic to incorporate genuine 24-carat gold sheeting to give Capirossi some extra 'bling' for the big event.

The helmet took 18 hours to paint and then a further three hours to lay the gold to the design.

Each part of the gold was machine-turned to give the visually stunning circle effect that can be seen on the top and side stripes, and within the 300 logo that replaced Capirossi's usual 65.

Capirossi finished ninth in the race.