Luiz Franchi is a lucky man. He recently escaped a high-speed crash on the race track as his helmet came off right after the first impact. The incident took place at the New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) during American Sportbike Racing (ASRA) SuperStock Race on September 3, 2017 when Jeremy Whitehurst suddenly chopped the throttle after the finish line. Whitehurst took responsibility of what happened at the race track.
Here’s the video of the scary accident:
Whitehurst said in his video description, “This was a lot more my fault than I had originally thought. I did not think I chopped the throttle like that after the finish line. I take responsibility for what happened and I apologize to Luiz Franchi. Live and learn. I’m glad no one was hurt and from now on, race pace into T1 after the checker.”
What’s even more scary than the crash though is how the helmet came off after the impact. We’re yet to hear Franchi’s side of the story but from what we can understand, the most obvious culprit here is the wrong size of the helmet. Most race tracks mandate the use of a D-Ring strap to fasten the helmet and it’s a pretty infallible but a right sized lid should not come off that easily, even without a strap.
Franchi’s helmet, however, came off even without hitting anything which clearly states that he was wearing a helmet that was too big for his head. YouTube’s comments section was divided in two groups arguing about whose fault was it but almost everyone agreed that the helmet was too big for Franchi.
How to select the right size of helmet?
Measure your head just above your eyebrows and ears with a tape and refer to the measurement-chart on the seller’s website to select the correct size. A right size helmet will take some effort to put on. Once on, try to move it around and observe the fitting. If it gets on and off without any effort or moves around too much on your head, you’re definitely wearing the wrong size. Here’s an elaborate video about choosing the right size of the helmet, by Motorcyclist Magazine: