Kategorie: Alpensterne

In 1963, a leather craftsman by the name of Sante Mazzarolo brought forth a future icon. Based in the small Northern Italy town of Asolo and with the perennial Alpine star flower as its namesake, Mr. Mazzarolo began producing the first products bearing the Alpinestars moniker. At that time a new sport called motocross was establishing itself and becoming quite popular across Europe. Very much aware of the sport, Sante realized an opportunity to apply his talents and technical acumen to design a new type of footwear that would meet the protective needs and demands of this beautiful yet brutal form of athleticism. The revolutionary boot that Mr. Mazzarolo produced would become an archetype for motocross protection.

Shortly after establishing the company in its state-of-the-art headquarters in Maser, northern Italy, Sante began working on a new, revolutionary boot for local enduro and motocross riders who had started importing bikes from overseas and establishing the sport of off-road motorcycle racing. Sante’s boot immediately became the industry leader and a benchmark for racing performance. Development started from the moment the first boot was produced, with the help of feedback from the riders, and by the early 1970s, Roger de Coster had brought Alpinestars its first World Motocross Championship accolade

Roger de Coster won five World Motocross Championships and began a continuous run of World Championship success for Alpinestars that continues to the present day. 

Sante Mazzarolo was honored with a number of Italian design and product awards in the early years of the company, establishing a reputation for creativity and innovation that took another step when he began development of road racing products in the 1970s. Kenny Roberts became Alpinestars’ most high-profile Grand Prix World Champion when he took his first title in 1978.

Development continued at pace, with the company producing boots for all forms of motorcycling, road and off-road, for competitive use and leisure, and in 1986 Gabriele Mazzarolo, Sante’s son, established  Alpinestars USA based in Los Angeles, California.  With Gabriele, Alpinestars USA started the development of its performance-leading mountain bikes, taking Mike Kloser to the podium of the 1990 World Downhill Championship.

With the Italian part of the Company now also owned and directed by Gabriele, by the mid-1990s the first technical apparel line was designed and launched, and in 1999 Alpinestars began development of high-performance road racing leather suits. Nicky Hayden and Ben Bostrom began to use  Alpinestars suits in AMA Superbikes, and  Carlos Checa was the first MotoGP rider to use Alpinestars suits in the premier category.  Troy Corser was Superbike World Champion in 2005, and  in 2006 Nicky Hayden opened a long series of MotoGP World Championship won by Alpinestars all the way to Fabio Quartararo currently.

In 2001 the development of Tech Air, Alpinestars motorcycling airbag was started, with its introduction to MotoGP in 2009 culminating with the current system, utilized by the majority of racers from MotoGP to the Dakar rally.

Success has by no means been confined to two wheels. Alpinestars began developing auto racing footwear at the very beginning of the 1990s, equipping many of the world’s leading Formula 1 and Indycar drivers throughout the decade before establishing an Auto Suit Department in 2000.   The Championships of Petter Solberg in World Rally in 2003, Kurt Busch in the Nascar Cup in 2004 and Fernando Alonso in Formula 1 in 2005 started a continuous series of top Championships to this day.

In 2004, Alpinestars began a partnership with Honda in the Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup and in the same year a new division dedicated to the creation and development of casual sportswear was opened in Los Angeles, and distribution in lifestyle fashion channels commences around the world. 

In 2005, Greg Minnaar won the UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup while the intensive development of specialist MTB apparel and protection continued and was brought to market.

Alpinestars, since its inception in 1963, is now the world-leading manufacturer of professional racing products, motorcycling airbag protection, high-performance apparel, and technical footwear. Alpinestars understands that the best design and research is achieved under extreme conditions. Our involvement in Formula 1, MotoGP, AMA Supercross and Motocross and NASCAR, and countless other top racing organizations has led to the creation of the most advanced and innovative technical equipment for the world racing’s top athletes.