Jordan King – Behind the visor

*We went behind the visor with MP Motorsport’s Jordan King to discuss the design of his helmet and delve into the back-story of where it all began.

The Briton looks back at where the original design came from, a fascinating story regarding the remembrance poppy on the top, and the more intricate details, including a quirky pattern that you may have missed.*

“I’ll go back right to the start: Back when I was karting, I ran a white helmet for quite a while. I did have a painted design, but within a year, I had a crash and it was written off. So, I ran a plain white helmet for probably three years.

“When I finally did get a first helmet painted, I sat down when I was at school, supposed to be doing my prep work, and came up with a helmet design - I spent a while doing it. I went to a boarding school and you would do your work in the dorms at night, from 7-till-9pm, so I just sat there a couple of evenings and came up with loads of different ideas.

“Originally, the white was blue and there was some bright yellow and some red. It had a halo around the top for sponsors, which has always been there, but in different colours. Fundamentally, the design has stayed very similar - I tried different things and got to something that I liked. That is going back to around 2010, maybe 2009, and I’ve fundamentally had that helmet since then.

“It remained blue until 2014 and then in 2015, I drove for Racing Engineering and they had a red car and blue just didn’t really work, so I went for white. The halo became black and I had Bulova Watches in that, who were on board for about five years.

“A few years ago, I added gold to it, just because I wanted to be a bit flash laughs. That was originally only for a year, but it has kind of just stuck. Previously, the lines were probably a bit smoother and they are a bit more jagged now. For my name, I have gone with the Union flag in there, which I think is nice and a bit different from just having your name written in black or white.

“I have tried to keep it simple. There have been a couple of designs where it got a bit busy, so I have tried to strip it back down, without too much going on. I like it quite simple, because I think it looks better on track. For example, you look at some helmets and up close, the designs look really nice and super cool, but then out on track you can't actually see any of it. Whereas this design, I think stands out quite well on track. It’s probably a little bit of an old style in the way that it is painted and the design, I guess because it’s 'boring' in that sense, but I always think that they stand out well on track.

“To add a bit of flair to it, if you look in the light, you can see this white with a pearlescent fleck in it and some swirly designs. You can't see that on track, but when you come up close, you can, which I think is quite cool. That way, it doesn't look very busy when it is out on track, but you know that it’s had a good bit of time and effort put onto it.

“Finally - and I don't need to explain the story of the First World War - I run with a remembrance poppy on the top, which started in 2015. I was a little bit late, but it represented the 100-year anniversary of the First World War. It started when my Grandad went and found his Grandad - who had died in the Battle of the Somme - and where he was buried in France.

“He had never met him and the only record he had was that he knew his name and he had his military photograph. From the badge on his cap, they were able to find out what regiment he was in and - cut a long story short - after a bit of research, they found where he died and where he was buried. So, they went to visit his grave in 2014, 100 years after the war started.

“I thought that it would be a nice thing to carry on my helmet. Obviously, everyone has some connection to it, but it started with the 100-year anniversary and I have kept it ever since - it would seem wrong to take it off now. I am doing a triathlon, which is only about 40 minutes from where he is buried, so we are going to go across and put some flowers on the grave.

“I have stuck with Arai for the helmets. I tried on a load of helmets when I first started and this was the most comfortable and they have supported me well ever since. Nippy Designs are the ones who paint it now. They have probably done the last five years for me. The guy used to kart actually, which is how I know him, and he then started painting helmets. I have also got Motorsport UK and the BRDC (British Racing Drivers' Club) on there too, because they have both helped me out over the years.”