Alpinestars

Alpinestars is a manufacturer of clothing and protective gear for motorsports and action sports founded in 1963, and located in Asolo, Italy. Its lines include specialized products for MotoGP, motocross, motorcycling, Formula One, WEC and NASCAR, mountain Biking and surfing, and motorsports-themed, non-sports clothing, with fashion design centers in Italy and California.

This article is about the Italian clothing company. For the electronica group, see Alpinestars (band).
Alpinestars
Private
IndustryMotorsport clothing
Action sports clothing
Casual clothing
Founded1963
FounderSante Mazzarolo
Headquarters
Asolo, Veneto
,
Italy
Number of locations
3 (2010)
Key people
Gabriele Mazzarolo
Websitealpinestars.com

History
Alpinestars motocross boots

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. The company's name comes from the English translation of the Italian mountain flower Stella Alpina (Edelweiss), which grows high in the mountains around the area where the company was founded. 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 are offices in Los Angeles and Bangkok while the original headquarters and main research & development facility remain in Northern Italy.

An Alpinestars racing suit

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.[1] It was used in the MotoGP and World Superbike championships. 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.[2]

A person wearing an Alpinestars jacket

Alpinestars developed flame and heat retardant Nomex fire 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.[3]

Alpinestars made mountain bikes until 1996.[4]

Sponsorships

NASCAR

Drivers/associate sponsor

Formula One

Teams

Drivers

GP2 Series

MotoGP

Teams

MotoGP
Moto3

Riders

MotoGP
Moto2
Moto3

Former sponsorships

Formula One

Teams

Riders

MotoGP

Motorsport events

Other motorsport

gollark: Have you not heard of the TORUS™?
gollark: hmm. what if unopenable box + retrocausality torus?
gollark: Accidentally launched into space by an extremey minor change 58 years ago.
gollark: "As little as possible" would make it, I don't know, accidentally get launched into space or something.
gollark: The box will survive due to accidentally being blasted into orbit beforehand.

References
  1. "Alpinestars TechAir race suit available July 2011, $2500 over the "Race Replica" | Hell for Leather". Hellforleathermagazine.com. 2010-04-30. Archived from the original on 2012-05-30. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
  2. By The Numbers: Marc Marquez’s Mugello Crash
  3. BBC Top Gear: Who is the Stig?
  4. Alpinestars History
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