In 1966, Bell reaffirmed its pioneering role in the industry by launching the Star, the first full-face helmet in history made in collaboration with Dan Gurney. Gurney is one of the greatest drivers of the period, but he’s not just fast on the track-he’s also a pioneer in safety. It is worth mentioning that the Star was developed by Bell at its new facility in Long Beach, California. Continued growth in sales and production required a move.
The full-face helmet was created to offer a higher degree of head protection than the combination of open-face helmet and goggles that was the common standard up to that time. Gurney, given his above-average height, needed to find a solution to a problem that was very common at the time: being hit by rocks and debris in the parts of the face that remain uncovered, perhaps thrown at high speed from cars in front. “With the full-face helmet, it’s still driving a coupe instead of a roadster car”, Gurney explained. “The leap forward is sensational.”
Gurney was not the first driver ever to wear a full-face helmet in a car, preceded by former motorcycle racer Swede Savage, who was mentored by his friend Gurney. The latter, however, brought the innovation to the attention of the big stages by using it in 1968 at the Indy 500 and then in Formula 1 at the German Grand Prix.
The innovation certainly did not go unnoticed and gradually overcame resistance from the more traditionalists, fearful of the claustrophobic feeling, less ventilation in hot races, or visor fogging in wet races. “I didn’t know if it would work in the rain, but it actually turned out better in this case as well,” Gurney said. The enormous progress in protection outweighed any possible downside.
In 1969, Mario Andretti was the last driver to win the Indianapolis 500 with an open-face helmet, which would gradually become a product specific for drivers of closed-cockpit cars. In the 1970s the full-face helmet became the standard in single-seaters, among USAC and Formula 1 races, as well as all other major categories, worn by top drivers such as Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ronnie Peterson, Emerson Fittipaldi, and many others. In 1971, unique in motor racing history, all 33 drivers at each of USAC’s 500-mile championship races – Indianapolis, Pocono and Ontario – wore Bell helmets.
