At the first race of the 2026 MotoGP season in Buriram, Thailand, something unusual happened before and during the weekend. A new rule about helmets caused problems for a few riders.

The world motorcycle racing organisation, the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme), introduced a new safety standard for helmets this year. The new rule is called FIMFRHPhe-02 and it makes the helmets much safer. The helmets now have to pass stronger impact tests and their visors must stay on in a crash.

Because of these changes, some helmet makers were not ready in time for the first race. Helmet brands must have every size of helmet tested and approved before the event. Unfortunately, the labels that show the helmets were approved could only be printed at the FIM office in Switzerland. One company had to send a worker to collect the labels and fly them to Thailand. The flights were delayed because the airspace around the Middle East was closed for safety reasons.

Three MotoGP riders were affected: Francesco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini, and Diogo Moreira. During the first days of free practice and qualifying, they could not use their own helmets because the approval labels were not in place yet.

To solve the problem, the riders used temporary helmets from other brands. They chose helmets that looked like their own so they could still use their usual designs, but they covered the brand names to avoid legal problems. One rider, Bastianini, even had to switch between two different temporary helmets because he did not feel comfortable with the first one.

By Sunday morning, just before the race warm-up session, all three riders finally had their regular helmets with the correct approval labels inside. Then they were able to race with the helmets they normally use.

This unusual event shows that even safety rules can cause surprises at big races. Helmet safety is very important, and riders must have gear that meets strict rules before they race.