No manufacturer is as prolific in sports-car racing as Porsche, and its world-wide competition reach means it has plenty of different drivers hot-shoeing its race cars. How to distinguish them all? As in most forms of motorsports, look no further than their helmets – granted, they can be difficult to see inside closed-cockpit 911s -- a driver’s most personal touch to their uniforms. Eighteen of Porsche’s racers tell us where their designs originated, and in some cases what each one means to them.

Patrick Long's bright green helmet. PORSCHE

"A helmet is your most important piece of safety equipment, so therefore a lot of emphasis goes into the preparation and maintenance of it. Second to safety, the paint on a helmet is a driver’s brand. His overalls and racecar can change from week to week, but its tradition for drivers to design their helmets and keep some kind of consistency as a form of identity. Long before Driver ID and handheld live timing, a driver was identified by the team and by the fans off of his helmet design.

"I’ve always had a bright green helmet since my first race in 1990 (except when Roger Penske told me to change it). I think consistency is something you’ll find with half the drivers. The other half might change for sponsorship reasons. If you look back at Ayrton Senna or Emerson Fittipaldi, or any of the Brazilian drivers, they had very bright and memorable helmets to me as a kid. The Formula 1 drivers were more religious about their identity with their helmets than the short track or the GT guys, probably because of the open top car.

"I have always had bright green flames and a shamrock on my helmet. They’re sort of “family heirlooms” if you will. My uncle drew my helmet up for me as a kid. He’s into hotrods and he grew up with my father watching oval track racing around Los Angeles, and a lot of the drivers had a scalloped or flame designs. Through the years of traveling in Europe, flames and green and shamrocks have come in and out of fashion, but I think it goes back to your identity. You stick with one thing and people will recognize that.

"A couple years ago we went to the 8860 F1 standard helmet at IMSA. That’s the highest-grade helmet on the market. That’s a good thing that we’re wearing a full carbon helmet to the top spec. We spend enough money in racing, there’s no reason driver safety shouldn’t be held to the highest standard. We receive cooling through the helmet. Some drivers run air through the side and into the chin area, some receive air through the top. You can’t put a hole anywhere you want on the helmet—it has to be homologated from the manufacturer. Some drivers run a visor, others run a shield. In the LMP and PC classes they have to run a shield across the top for impact."

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Richard Lietz – No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR: “It was the cheapest design I could find. They charge you per color and if I were to add more it would be more money, so I decided this is enough for me. Red, white, red I have to do because I am Austrian. Black and white don’t count as a color, so it’s cheaper. It’s been like this since 2007.” PORSCHE

Michael Christensen – No. 912 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR: “I drew it myself looking at other helmets. I found something that I liked. I had a lot of time drawing helmets in the winter when I was young. I took a bit of what I liked from each helmet. I’ve had this design since 2006. It shows who you are and hopefully people will recognize you.” PORSCHE

Wolf Henzler – No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR: “The two arrows, one on each side of my helmet, are in honor of my Uncle Thomas, who raced in the 1970’s. Every time I get a new helmet, I add a new color, but always keep the arrows, plus my initials.” PORSCHE

Bryan Sellers – No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR: “When I first started karting and got my helmet painted, there was one rule. It had to be bright so my Dad could spot me easily. I always had a bright blue or a bright orange. Orange was my favorite color so it just sort of stuck all of these years. When I was in high school I would draw helmets in class. I ended up with one that I liked and that is the one I have had ever since with only slight changes.” PORSCHE

Patrick Dempsey – No. 27 Dempsey Racing Porsche 911 GT America: “It’s a Ram’s Head, man – dressed up by Troy Lee Design.” PORSCHE

Andrew Davis – No. 27 Dempsey Racing Porsche 911 GT America: “I’m proud to be an American sports car driver, thus the red-white-blue; also proud to be a University of Georgia Bulldog, thus the red and black.” PORSCHE

Leh Keen – No. 22 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America: “Actually stole my design early in my career from a competitor, Robin Liddell, then added green.” PORSCHE

Cooper MacNeil – No. 22 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America: “I like the carbon fiber black look that the helmet arrived with. I have just added some stickers to it.” PORSCHE

Mario Farnbacher – No. 23 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America: “I chose a simple design with nice colors that go together.” PORSCHE

Ian James – No. 23 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America: “Mine is a combination of the Union Jack, representing the country of my birth, and the Stars and Stripes, representing my country of residence.” PORSCHE

John Potter – No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT America: “Why is my helmet just plain black? Just a combination of laziness and scheduling.” PORSCHE

Andy Lally – No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT America: “I came up with the design in 1999 after being picked for Team USA Racing. I wanted a patriotic design without looking like the Flag. Have kept the two red stripes throughout my career. PORSCHE

Jan Heylen – No. 58 Snow Racing Porsche 911 GT America: ”When I was 13 years old, I saw my first professionally-painted helmet, but my favorite color was yellow, so I have always had a yellow-based helmet with additional designer input.” PORSCHE

Madison Snow – No. 58 Snow Racing Porsche 911 GT America: “Sadly, I have no great helmet tale to tell. I bought a pre-set design from a designer, and my contribution was to add some silver – my favorite color.” PORSCHE

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Damien Faulkner – No. 81 GT Autosport Porsche 911 GT America: “It’s the Irish colors.” PORSCHE

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