Matteo Bertelle is an Italian racer who won the CIV Pre-Moto3 title in 2017, rode the European Talent Cup and the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, and earned a Moto3 World Championship ride with Avintia Esponsorama in 2022 before an ACL injury cut his season short. This decor carries his colours — black, red and yellow — on the Skwal Cup's own shell rather than a track-only design.

Where most competitors stop

Plenty of helmets at this price point are shaped smooth and round, with no attempt to manage what happens to the air once it passes the rider's head. The Skwal Cup takes a different approach: a rear spoiler, developed through computational fluid-dynamics simulation and proven in a wind tunnel, built to control that airflow rather than ignore it — a piece of engineering carried down from Shark's competition helmets rather than a shape borrowed from a moodboard.

Five points, then eighteen

The number that best captures how much tougher ECE 22.06 is than its predecessor: impact testing went from five points on the shell to eighteen. The Skwal Cup is certified to this newer standard, mandatory for EU homologation since January 2024, which also tests at several impact speeds instead of one, adds an oblique-impact test against an abrasive anvil to simulate a glancing fall, scores rotational forces through a Brain Injury Criterion, and fits the visor, Pinlock insert and a comms unit before impact rather than testing a bare shell. No FIM suffix appears on this helmet's certification — it's road homologation only.

S/M versus L/XXL

The Skwal Cup's quoted weight, 1,580 g (+/-50 g), belongs to its smaller shell, which covers sizes S and M. Sizes L through XXL are built on the larger of the two shells and will typically weigh a little more for the same construction — a detail that matters because it's carried entirely by the neck for the length of the ride, not just felt when the helmet first goes on. Across our own road-legal full-face range, most helmets weigh between roughly 1,250 g and 1,800 g, putting the Skwal Cup's figure in the middle third rather than either end.

A minimal vent count, on purpose

Rather than stacking multiple vents across the shell, the Skwal Cup uses one intake and two rear exhausts, keeping the surface the spoiler needs clean of extra scoops.

The Bertelle finish, in use

Black, red and yellow in this combination reads as a genuine racing livery rather than a generic sport graphic, which is the point of a replica decor: it carries a specific rider's colours rather than an invented pattern. On the road, the contrast keeps the helmet visible without relying on hi-vis panels, and the finish wears its scuffs the way any road helmet does over a season of real use.

Clarity in changeable weather

The Pinlock 70 insert fitted to the Optical class 1 visor keeps fogging off the table in cold or wet conditions from day one. The visor itself is quick-release for tool-free swaps; it's not compatible with Shark's IRID photochromic system, which is reserved for the AERON GP, AERON and RACE R PRO.

Interior, and keeping it fresh

Removable, machine-washable Alveotech lining, antibacterial and suede-finished — a couple of minutes to pull out, no tools needed, built for regular washing rather than an occasional wipe-down.

A size run built on two shells

Rather than one shell scaled with padding for every size, the Skwal Cup uses two across its XS-to-XXL run, keeping the fit proportional at both ends.

Where €339.99 lands

€339.99 places this decor above the Ridill 2's €189.99 starting point and the D-Skwal 3's €219.99, and roughly level with the Skwal i3's €319.99–€399.99 range and the Skwal i Cup's €329.99 starting price. The gap to those last two is almost entirely the LED brake-light system fitted there and not here.

Built to be kept, not replaced

Shark supports the Skwal Cup with its own spare visors, listed alongside the Ridill 2, D-Skwal 3 and Skwal i3 — the kind of ongoing parts support that lets a rider keep one helmet running for years rather than buying a new one over a worn visor.

Reading the fine print so you don't have to

No LED brake light is fitted to the Skwal Cup — that feature sits on the Skwal i3 and Skwal i Cup. No SHARP star rating exists for this model, since SHARP's tests cover the Skwal, Skwal 2 and D-Skwal, not the Cup. The certification is ECE 22.06 only, with no FIM competition suffix. There's no MIPS liner, no electronic quick-release system, and the visor has no tear-off posts.

In the box

Everything needed to ride: the helmet, its fitted Pinlock 70 insert, and the five-year warranty documentation.

Bertelle's route through the ranks

Bertelle's career moved through the categories that feed MotoGP's junior pipeline: the European Talent Cup in 2018, where he finished fifth overall with two wins at Jerez; the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2019, taking a podium on the way to 14th overall; and a return to the Rookies Cup in 2021 with a win at the Sachsenring and seventh overall. That path led to a Moto3 World Championship ride with Avintia Esponsorama in 2022, cut short by an ACL injury at the Sachsenring — the kind of career this replica decor is tied to rather than an invented backstory.

Where some replica helmets attach a rider's name to a design with no real connection to their career, this one is built around results that are a matter of public record — Bertelle's own race history, not a marketing narrative added afterward.

That's worth knowing for a rider who cares about the story behind a livery as much as the livery itself. It also means the livery can be checked against public results rather than taken on trust, which isn't true of every replica helmet on the market. Sourcing matters here, not just styling. The result behind the colours is a matter of public record, not a claim taken on trust.

Specification

• Model — Skwal Cup Replica Bertelle
• Homologation — ECE 22.06 approval
• Shell — Polycarbonate shell across two sizes
• Weight — 1,580 g on the first shell size (+/-50 g)
• Warranty — 5 years standard
• Ventilation — One intake, two rear vents
• Closure — Double-D retention ring
• Visor — Optical class 1, Pinlock 70 included
• Interior — Alveotech comfort liner, removable and washable
• Sun visor — Drop-down sun visor, top slider
• Country of origin — Made in Portugal
• Sizes — 6 sizes, XS to XXL

Size guide — all measurements