Dainese: Pursuing Safety Since 1972

Courtesy of UltimateMotorcycling.com


Dainese History
Let's be blunt - if nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi uses it, it must be good.
His motorcycle apparel of choice? Dainese, an Italian company that's been providing protection for riders since 1972. Their moto says it all: "Providing people with head-to-toe protection in dynamic sports."
And one of the most dynamic sports is moto-racing, especially road racing, where the famed, almost alien-like Dainese can be observed on many of the top riders who sometimes hit the pavement at speeds around 200 mph.

Protection is crucial in this sport, and riders have to put their faith in established companies, such as the well-known Dainese. And like many well-known companies, the Dainese name grew from a history of pursing only the best in safety.
During this constant pursuit, the company has invented products such as the back protector and knee sliders, and developed existing products with the introduction of innovative technologies and materials. During this development, Dainese relies heavily on competition for their R&D.
Their D-Tec (Dainese Technology Center) technicians transfer the extreme experiences gained during races into a collection offering the most suitable product for all types of motorcyclists (racing, touring, city).
Because of this type of research, it was Dainese that introduced carbon fiber and Kevlar protections for gloves, boots and suits, a design that's been copied by almost every name in the industry.

Over the years, motorcycle safety apparel has taken on many different forms, but Dainese's current idea of safety means "protection, comfort and reliability, elements which are knowledgeably balanced to create products capable of effectively meeting the needs of different users."

Dainese Historical Timeline

1972
• Dainese is founded.
• First studies for design of the Dainese logo.
• The first products are leather pants for motocross, followed almost immediately by the first suits. Innovative design and the use of color mark a true revolution from the conventional style of motorcycle clothing.

1974
• Elastic inserts are added to improve the comfort of suits.
• Dieter Braun is the first rider officially sponsored by Dainese in MotoGP.

1976
• Giacomo Agostini starts racing with Dainese.

1978
• At the end of the 70s Barry Sheene starts collaborating with Dainese, introducing a new concept of protection: the back protector and composite protections.

1980
• Riding style changes and Dainese test the first Knee Sliders, in collaboration with top riders. The first motorcycle gloves are produced.
• Kenny Roberts, the great "King Kenny" also known as "canary" for his yellow suit, wins the 500 cc World Championship three times with Dainese.

1981
• Freddie Spencer wears the back protector for the first time and suffers no serious injuries during a bad accident at the Kyalami track.
• At the same time collaboration with the many-times champion Anton Mang begins, to test the new pre-modelled suits, which conform to the correct posture of the rider in the saddle.
• In the early 80s Dainese produces the "porcupine" Knee Sliders.

1983
• Paris-Dakar: Dainese protects the riders challenging the desert in this famous rally, with its route through the rocky environment of Tamanrasset, the sands of the Ténéré desert and the beaches of Dakar.

1985
• In the mid-eighties protection takes another step forward with the introduction of the back protector: knee sliders take their definitive form.

1987
• Toni Mang wins the Word Championship title in the 250 cc class with Dainese.
• Dainese develops the first generation of back protector in collaboration with designer Marc Sadler.
• Dainese produces its first motorcycle boots.

1988
• The aerodynamic protective hump is introduced in pro racers' suits.

1989
• Eddie Lawson wins the World Championship title in the 500 cc class with Dainese.

1992
• Philippe Perakis, one of the pioneers of downhill mountain biking, introduces Dainese motorcycle protections to the biking world.

1993
• Dainese Safety Program (later renamed D-Tec) is inaugurated: in this R&D technology center engineers, technicians and physicians work together with the aim of developing increasingly high performance gear and equip it with technology, studying not only materials like leather, but also extending the range of action to other products such as helmets, gloves and boots.
• Kevin Schwantz wins the world championship title in the 500 cc class with Dainese.
• In the 90s Velcro is introduced to fasten knee sliders to the suit.

1994
• Carl Fogarty wins 4 superbike world championships with Dainese.
• Dainese produces its first motorcycle helmet.
• Kristian Ghedina, Debora Compagnoni and the "Blue Avalanche" (Italian National Alpine Skiing Team) use Dainese back protectors for the first time during a World Championship competition. From now on all athletes in this sector will use the important back protector.

1995
• Dainese starts to apply know-how acquired in the motorcycle sector to protect other sports, such as mountain biking, skiing and snowboarding: the No Impact Division is created.
• Max Biaggi wins 4 world titles in the 250 cc class and tests the Dainese Full Pro glove, with carbon fibre and Kevlar protections, for the first time.
• Kevlar-carbon fibre gloves save the hands of many motorcyclists.

1998
• Boot- suit fastening system. The new boots and new Pro-tech suit have a new interior fastening system which improves protection against excessive twisting of the foot.

1999
• Dainese presents the T-Age suit, which has some revolutionary innovations to improve comfort and level of protection (V-shaped front opening system, wider elastic inserts).
• Second generation back protectors are integrated in the Safety Jacket.
• Nicolas Vouilloz becomes world downhill champion: this is the first time that Dainese colours have reached the top of the podium in the most spectacular mountain bike discipline.

2000
• In 2000 carbon and titanium protections are integrated in suits, while knee sliders are fastened to the knees by Velcro.
• The many times world champion and Olympic winner Lasse Kjus collaborates with Dainese in the development of the first ski helmets.
• Biaggi and Rossi follow in the footsteps of Lucchinelli and Agostini in 1976.
• Jacque is world champion in the 250 cc class with Dainese.
• Waldmann wins two world titles in Spain and England, wearing Dainese helmet, suit and gloves.
• Dainese unveils D-air®: this highly innovative system for the protection of motorcyclists is based on the totally new concept of air bag. The project is the outcome of long collaboration with an Israeli company specialized in the design of advanced technology systems: MERHAV APP Advanced Airbag Technology.
• The Procom system is introduced; this sophisticated instrument checks the effectiveness of new technological solutions devised to improve comfort in terms of temperature and humidity.
• Valentino Rossi, the rising star of MotoGP wears Dainese gear and uses the most innovative protective solutions for suit, gloves and special boots which limit twisting of the ankle in the event of a fall.

2001
• Dainese confirms its interest in continuing to perform research for safety in dynamic sports with D-Mobile, the object of which is to provide motorcyclists with state-of-the-art solutions for protection and comfort developed together with great champions of the various disciplines. D-Mobile is the mobile version of Dainese's R&D department, D-tec.

2002
• Initial studies are carried out for a suit with elasticated inserts that conform to the rider's movements.
• The integrated protection system is born.
• Wave, the 4th generation back protector, with integrated ventilation system is born.
• Valentino Rossi, the only rider in the world to have won titles in the 125, 250, 500 and MotoGP classes, wins the MotoGP World Championship.

2003
• Dainese continues to collaborate with athletes and members of the Italian National Skiing Team: Giorgio Rocca, Karen Putzer, Lasse Kjus, Martina Ertl.
• With Valentino Rossi, Manuel Poggiali and Daniel Pedrosa, Dainese wins the World Championships in the 125, 250 and Moto GP classes.

2004
• Dainese becomes "Safety Partner" for the Italian National Ski Team. Just as for motorcycling, the D-Mobile becomes a reference point for the safety of all athletes participating in the World Cup.
• Dainese launches the "Safety Research Project": an in-depth study of rider-vehicle dynamics with Prof. Cossalter, of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Padua. The project is divided into two steps: the first is based on computerized simulation of the major situations that can cause accidents, while the second consists of providing motorcyclists with sensors that detect the human-vehicle dynamic parameters on motorcycles. Data acquired offer a fundamental input for development of the future D-air® and of the Procom project.
• Valentino goes down in history: he leaves Honda for Yamaha and wins his sixth World Championship with Dainese.
2005
• Valentino becomes Dainese endorser for the company safety campaign.

2006
• Dainese produces the "Sparks of Passion" costumes for the opening ceremony of the 20th Winter Olympics in Turin; these express all the style, energy and passion for speed of the sporting spirit.
• Giorgio Rocca, wins the slalom in the 2006 World Cup with Dainese, and totals 5 victories in the 2006 season, placing Italy first in the World slalom classifications.
• 19/12/2006: during the stunt test organized on the Adria circuit, the D-air® racing airbag is activated on the track for the first time.

2007
• The "I Dainese Me" campaign is launched with Valentino Rossi and Carolina Kostner to present Dainese's brand values to the general public.

2008
• Valentino Rossi achieved another landmark in motor cycling history when he notched up his eighth world title with Yamaha's M1. At the same time, he continued to be actively involved in the development of Dainese's new protective gear.
• Dainese became Official Safety Partner of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, where it first collected data for the D-Air system with Guy Martin.

2009
• Bouncing back from his nasty crash at Beaver Creek, Aksel Lund Svindal won the Overall World Cup and Super-G, going on to become Super-Combined World Champion at the Val d'Isère Championships.
• The Slalom World Cup went to Maria Reisch who also won the World Championship in the same discipline at Val d'Isère.
Dainese Current Riders

Moto GP
• Jorge Lorenzo
• Marco Simoncelli
• Valentino Rossi
Moto 2
• Stefan Bradl
• Yannick Guerra
• Simone Giorgi Grotzkyj
• Fonsi Nieto
125 cc
• Marcel Schroetter
• Luca Vitali
• Lorenzo Salvadori
National Championships
• Europe: Danilo Dell'Omo, Marco Borciani (Italy); Maxime Berger (France); Guy Martin (UK); Michael Ranseder (Austria); Joan Lascorz (Spain); Niklas Ajo (Finland)
• USA: Geoff May, Aaron Yates, Blake Young, Steve Rapp, Chris Ulrich, Martin Cardenas, James Rispoli, Tray Batey, John Jacobi, Steve Atlas, Mark Junge, Sammy Halbert

What our World Champs do on weekend

They go race MOTOCROSS!! :)

Rossi organized a fundraiser race for kids leukemia at Cavallara, with a few road racing guys, including Dovi, Simoncelli and Mr. Schwantz himself. 10,000 fans turned up.

Honda Repsol's Andrea Dovizioso won the overall.


From Twowheelsblog.com:


Over 10,000 people turned out to see Valentino Rossi’s event Motocross dei Campioni, 30 anni più tardi (Motocross of the Champions, thirty years later). The fund raiser was organized to help kids suffering from leukemia at the Pesaro Hospital and the public was treated to an exciting day, that saw Andrea Dovizioso take the most points and win the race.
The first heat was won by Spanish rider and this year’s 125cc Champion Julian Simon, followed by Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Melandri, while Rossi was sixth after falling in the third lap but was able to finish.
The second heat finished in the same manner with Rossi taking fourth. Julian Simon could not take part in the third as he had a plane to catch, so the podium saw Dovizioso, Rossi and Melandri, with Dovizioso winning the event with the most points.
“It was a great race,” said a satisfied Rossi at the end of the show: “we had over 10,000 paying spectators and this was our goal, to help the AIL ( Italian Leukemia Association) and the children.”.

Road Racer X Tuesday Conversation: Blake Young

Road Racer X's Tuesday's Conversation with Dainese' Blake Young.


Blake Young was a 2009 newcomer to both the AMA Pro American Superbike class and the Rockstar/Makita factory Suzuki team, but that didn’t prevent him from making the podium four times, placing top-ten at all but three races, and finishing sixth overall in class points. His superbike foray impressed many in the paddock and gave Young a chance to learn from riders like Mat Mladin and Kevin Schwantz. We asked the Wisconsin native for his thoughts on his rookie season.

Brian J. Nelson photo

Was the season harder than you thought it would be?
The season went really good for us, I think. As far as if it was as hard as I thought it was going to be, I think working with a new team, a new crew chief, and being back on Dunlop tires…. It was a lot, and I think it was a pretty good season having had all that stuff thrown at us.
It was your first year on a factory team; how would you describe that experience?
You know, there’s obviously a really high level of expectations to do well over there. The Yoshimura team has been winning numerous championships and it was a relief to get over there and see how it works, and to start working with some of the guys. It was one of my goals last year to ride for a factory team and now that I’m here, one of my goals is to hopefully win a championship for them. Now that Mat is gone, the expectation will be even higher for me to do well.
How was working with Mat, and do you wish he’d stuck around for another year?
Yeah, absolutely, it was great and it’s kind of a bummer to see him go. I think that only being able to ride with him and be his teammate for a year, there was only so much I could learn, but I definitely still learned a lot. I wish that I had been able to learn a lot more, and I would have liked him to stick around another year, for sure. Racing against him was good, and having him there was really speeding up the process of learning as quickly as possible how to win the superbike championship.
What did you learn this year?
It’s hard to place a finger on one thing, but one thing that I learned from Mat is how to be a champion off the racetrack. I think that if you look at Mat, there’s really nobody else better out there in our paddock that has won seven championships.  He’s probably one of the best teachers to have riding on the same truck, so to speak. It’s a big honor.

Brian J. Nelson photo

How did you get along with the ’09 factory GSX-R1000?
It’s great. We got a new bike that came out this year, but we didn’t get on it right away. We had to go three races on the 2008s, but once we did [switch to ‘09s], it was great. Suzuki always puts out a bike that keep getting better and better. We had kind of an up-and-down season working with it, but I think that things will only get better for me.  There were a lot of firsts this past year, things that I won’t have to go through next year. So, I’m looking forward to testing on the bike this November.
What kind of goals do you have for the 2010 season?
For next year, it would be to win a superbike race, and then to win a whole lot of them, and then a championship will come with those wins. I’d like to definitely pick up the ball that Mat has left behind and run with it, and hopefully keep that championship streak going for Suzuki.

OTT Video: Kevin Schwantz Rides His 1993 Suzuki RGV500 During The MotoGP Weekend At Indy

Kevin Schwantz took his 1993 500cc World Championship-winning Suzuki RGV500 on a demo ride at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the 2009 Red Bull Indianapolis GP weekend.
Dan Lo of CornerspeedPhoto shot some pics for the absent OTT video crew.

Kevin Schwants rides 500cc again!

Kevin Schwantz went around the Indy track riding his 1993 World champion 500cc bike again. For this celebration  of Kevin's title and years in 500cc GP, we made a replica suit of his 1993 leathers. Pretty cool.

 

 

Kevin Schwantz on track at Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP

Kevin Schwantz on track at Indy with the BQR's Moto2 during the Moto2 exhibition. You will note the Dainese's Laguna Seca leather suit in platinum color. Although a custom-made 1993 replica suit was built for Kevin's parade lap on his 1993 500c GP bike, he decided to use this off-the-shelf suit for the Moto2 ride.

http://www.motogp.com/en/videos/2009/FREE+VIDEO+Kevin+Schwantz+ontrack+at+Indianapolis+with+BQRs+Moto2

Blake Young feature on SpeedTV.com

A very good in depth feature on Dainese's Blake Young.

Blake Young on SpeedTV.com

Dainese's Blake Young to World Superbike

Cyclenews.com - June 22, 2009

Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Blake Young will make his World Superbike debut at Donington Park this weekend, Cycle News has learned from multiple sources.
Young will replace Fonsi Nieto on the Alstare Suzuki Brux machine at the track in the British Midlands that plays host to the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship. Nieto was riding in place of the injured German Max Neukirchner. The Alstare Suzuki Brux entry is currently listed as TBC (to be confirmed), according to a World Superbike spokesman who would neither deny nor confirm Young's entry.
The deal to put Young on the Suzuki was sealed at Misano Adriatico this past weekend, where Young attended the race along with his mentor Kevin Schwantz. Alstare Suzuki Brux team owner Francis Batta was looking for a young rider to replace Nieto. When Batta asked Schwantz if he knew a young rider to try out, Schwantz introduced him to Young.
The final approval had to be made by American Suzuki, which today agreed to allow Young to race. Young may be racing with his familiar number 79, though that has yet to be confirmed. An official announcement from Suzuki on Young's entry is expected on Tuesday.
By lining up on the World Superbike grid, the 21-year-old Wisconsinite will increase the American contingent to four. He'll join former teammate Ben Spies (Yam), Stiggy Racing Honda's John Hopkins, and Jamie Hacking, the Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki rider who's racing the factory Kawasaki in place of the injured Makoto Tamada for the second week in a row. The race also extends Young's first ever trip to Europe by a week.

Young's first ever trip to Europe is ending better than it began.  It started with the airline losing his luggage when he and Schwantz landed in Barcelona about ten days ago for  the Catalunya Grand Prix north of Barcelona. From there the pair visited the Dainese factory in Italy before going traveling on to Misano. In Misano, Schwantz made a guest appearance in the television commentary booth for race one, World Superbike's first ever flag-to-flag race. The race was won in a runaway by Spies.
Very few riders have more insight than Schwantz into Donington Park, a circuit that flows well, but can have a tricky surface, especially in the wet. The 1993 World Champion's successes and failures at the track are legendary, starting with his Match Race battles with Wayne Rainey through an illustrious GP career that ended with four wins, including three in a row starting in 1989. Schwantz was such a fan favorite that he had a corner named after him. Schwantz Curve is a fast left that feeds into the much slower McLeans right.
But Schwantz won't be able to offer advice in person, at least not for the first day of practice. He'll be at Barber Motorsports Park for a two-day Schwantz School on June 25-26. Whether he plans to return to the UK for Saturday and Sunday isn't known.

From Donington Park Young heads to Monterey, California for the seventh round of the AMA Pro Road Race Championship in support of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Young currently sits eighth in the American Superbike point standings.

Blake Young video portrait by the On The Throttle crew

The crew at OTT brings us another great video, this time featuring Dainese rider Blake Young.

On The Throttle

AGV Dainese USA Introduce their 2009 AMA Pro riders

[This P.R. was edited by the author :-)]

2009 AMA SPONSORED RACERS BY AGV DAINESE USA

AGV Dainese USA introduced their 2009 AMA Sponsored Racers. For 2009, Dainese and AGV USA, have a line up of Top riders that reinforce the strong commitment that the Italian apparel and helmet companies made to the motorcycle racing scene in the US.

Jordan Suzuki #23 Aaron Yates (2008 AMA Superstock Championship) and National Guard Jordan Suzuki #54 Geoff May (2nd place 2008 AMA Superstock Championship) will wear the Italian manufactured racing leather suits that made Dainese a leader in the motorcycle protective gear.

Corona Extra Honda #100 Neil Hodgson, who finished 6th in the AMA 2008 season, will be an important ambassador for AGV helmets in the US premium racing class.

Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki #79 Blake Young, who finished the 2008 AMA Superstock and AMA Supersport with a very respectable 4th place, will be the youngest rider in the Suzuki factory-backed team to represent Dainese.

The Roadracingworld.com Suzuki team (including riders Chris Ulrich, Santiago Villa and Russell Wikle) will be the only team in AMA to be protected "head to toes" by Dainese and AGV. Thanks to the acquisition of AGV helmets, Dainese is now one of the only manufacturers offering full protective gear for motorcyclists.

18 years old Garrett Willis in AMA Supersport along with 2007 Daytona 200 Champion and 3rd place 2008 AMA Formula Xtreme Steve Rapp and Paragdim Racing's Barrett Long, a Top 10finisher at the 2009 Daytona 200, complete the 2009 AMA AGV Dainese line-up.

To strengthen its dedication to grass-roots racing in the US, Dainese and AGV will continue to support the Vesrah Suzuki team (made of Mark Junge, John Jacobi, Tray Batey and Cory West), winner of the last three WERA Championships, sponsoring the team "head to toes".

James "The Rocket" Rispoli, Tony Davila and Sammy Halbert will carry the AGV Dainese colors in the 2009 AMA Flat Track Championship.

The legendary Kevin Schwantz along with Aaron Yates, Geoff May, Blake Young, Santiago Villa stopped by the Dainese D-Store Orange County, before the 2nd round of the 2009 AMA National Guard Superbikeseries at Fontana, to visit the store that has become a unique place for motorcycle aficionados.

“Providing people with head-to-toes protection in dynamic sports” has been the corporate mission since 1972 when the company was founded by its current President Lino Dainese.

Kevin Schwantz talks about the new AMA Superbike (video)

Great interview of Kevin Schwantz giving his views on the state of the new series. Always good to listen to the #34 and cool to see him sport the Dainese colors! ;-)

More photos from Daytona

Photos by Riles/Nelson from Road Racer X magazine

Aaron Yates and the rest of #23 crew

Roadracingworld.com's Russ Wikle (left) on the podium in AMA Supersport

Blake Young getting plenty advices from his mentor Kevin Schwantz