Alpinestars
Private | |
Industry |
Motorsport clothing Action sports clothing Casual clothing |
Founded | 1963 |
Founder | Sante Mazzarolo |
Headquarters | Asolo, Veneto, Italy |
Number of locations | 3 (2010) |
Key people | Gabriele Mazzarolo |
Website | www.alpinestars.com |
Alpinestars is a manufacturer of technical, high performance protective gear[1] for motorcycle and auto racing (MotoGP, Motocross, Formula One, WEC and NASCAR), as well as action sports such as mountain Biking and surfing. Alpinestars also makes motorsports-themed, non-sports clothing, with fashion design centers in California and Italy.
The company's name comes from the English translation of the Italian mountain flower Stella Alpina which grows high in the mountains around the area where the company was founded.
Founded in 1963 by Sante Mazzarolo in Asolo, Italy, the company started out making hiking and ski boots, but quickly shifted its focus to making boots for motocross racing, and road racing boots shortly thereafter. They sponsored motorsport world champions such as Roger DeCoster, Kenny Roberts, Mick Doohan and Marc Márquez. During the 1990s the company branched out into manufacturing all types of technical protective gear for motorcycling such as gloves, jackets, and full leather suits.
The company has been headed by Sante's son, Gabriele Mazzarolo, since 1993. There areoffices in Los Angeles and Tokyo while the original headquarters and main research & development facility remain in Northern Italy.
Alpinestars leather suits and protective gear are worn MotoGP World Champions Marc Márquez, Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo, and World Superbike Champions Ben Spies and Troy Corser. Alpinestars' motocross gear is used by AMA and World Motocross champions Marvin Musquin, Tyla Rattray, David Philippaerts, Christophe Pourcel, and Ryan Villopoto.
In 2011 Alpinestars developed the Tech Air Race System, an electronic airbag safety system that uses a data logging unit and dual charge inflation module.[2] It was used in the MotoGP and World Superbike championships and was intended to eventually be worn by street riders. In June 2013 Marc Márquez crashed at a speed of around 337 km/h (209 mph) while wearing the airbag suit and did not sustain serious injuries.[3]
Alpinestars developed flame and heat retardant Nomex suits, footwear, gloves, and underwear for Formula One and NASCAR, which has been worn by recent champions Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Jimmie Johnson. Top Gear's the Stig wears a white Alpinestars race suit, shoes and gloves.[4]
Alpinestars made mountain bikes until 1996.[5]
Sponsorships
NASCAR
Primary sponsor
Drivers/associate sponsor
- Jeff Gordon
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kasey Kahne
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
- Danica Patrick
- Nelson Piquet, Jr.
- Kurt Busch
- Kyle Busch
- Travis Pastrana
Formula One
Teams
- Renault Sport F1 Team
- Scuderia Toro Rosso
- Sahara Force India F1 Team
- Williams Martini Racing
- Haas F1 Team
Drivers
- Kevin Magnussen
- Jolyon Palmer
- Daniil Kvyat
- Carlos Sainz Jr.
- Sergio Pérez
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Felipe Massa
- Valtteri Bottas
- Romain Grosjean
- Esteban Gutiérrez
GP2 Series
- DAMS (Felipe Nasr overalls)
- Lotus GP (Esteban Gutiérrez overalls)
- Ocean Racing Technology (Jon Lancaster overalls)
MotoGP
Teams
MotoGP
Moto3
Riders
MotoGP
- Marc Márquez
- Jorge Lorenzo
- Dani Pedrosa
- Andrea Dovizioso
- Maverick Viñales
- Loris Baz
- Eugene Laverty
- Cal Crutchlow
- Aleix Espargaró
Moto2
- Danny Kent
- Miguel Oliveira
- Ratthapark Wilairot
- Thomas Lüthi
- Jonas Folger
- Takaaki Nakagami
- Álex Márquez
Moto3
- Fabio Quartararo
- Enea Bastianini
- Jorge Navarro
- Jorge Martín
- María Herrera
- Arón Canet
- Hiroki Ono
- Bo Bendsneyder
- Fabio Di Giannantonio
Former sponsorships
Formula One
Teams
Riders
MotoGP
- Casey Stoner
- Daijiro Kato
- Nicky Hayden
- Alex Hofmann
- Tohru Ukawa
- Carlos Checa
- Troy Bayliss
- Kenny Roberts, Jr.
- Kurtis Roberts
- John Hopkins
- Mika Kallio
- Toni Elías
- Ben Spies
- Broc Parkes
- Héctor Barberá
- Scott Redding
Motorsport events
Motorsport other
References
- ↑ "Alpinestars". Alpinestars. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
- ↑ "Alpinestars TechAir race suit available July 2011, $2500 over the "Race Replica" | Hell for Leather". Hellforleathermagazine.com. 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
- ↑ By The Numbers: Marc Marquez’s Mugello Crash
- ↑ BBC Top Gear: Who is the Stig?
- ↑ History of Alpinestars' bikes