SCORE JOURNAL
17
HELMET SAFETY
HEADSTRONG
ON RACING
SAFETY
Better Helmets And
FHRs Help Make
Off-Road Racing
Safer
STORY BY STUART BOURDON
t
he pursuit of excellence in off-road racing has consistently driven a cycle
of innovation, resulting in new and improved materials, designs, and
products that enable drivers to achieve higher levels of competition,
success, and safety. Helmets are perhaps among the most significant of
these safety products. Today, that push toward greater driver, navigator,
and crew member protection continues as one of the key elements spurring new
developments in helmet design and standards.
In October 2025, the new Snell standards for helmet performance became
concrete. Hong Zhang, Director of Education at the Snell Foundation, talked
about Snell's helmet testing benchmarks. "For auto racing helmets, the only
change for the SA2025 criteria was to lower the acceptable highest peak g-force
across the board, in every head size, from 300g down to 275g. The general push
for the helmet industry is the same: Test the helmets a little harder and raise the
bar for passing a little higher. There are no other changes in the update from
SA2020 to SA2025."
