This paved the way for the very first technical motorcycle tracing suit, personally designed by Lino Dainese in 1975 for the legendary Giacomo Agostini, who went on to become 15-times world champion. Featuring radical new developments, including improved ergonomics, thicker hide and distinctive graphics, this suit heralded the Dainese revolution.
Ceaseless innovations followed, not only increasing safety but rider performance as well. Which is why Dainese creations have been used by so many world champions.
The next milestone was the back protector, first worn on the track by Barry Sheene in 1978. This was followed by the protective knee slider, originally conceived for American champion Kenny Roberts in 1980. Following fast on its heels came the aerodynamic speed hump (1988), composite armor (1990), gloves with rigid carbon (1995), boots with a carbon, and then boots worn under the suit, rather than outside (1988), an innovation whose best-known ambassador is still Valentino Rossi today.
And that was just on track and road. Dainese’s vision has also transformed off-road riding with inventions conceived for the fastest competitions - African Rallies. The best known of them is armor made by hot injection molding in a process that brings hide, polyurethane foam and a rigid shell together as one. The technology, first seen in the iconic suits of Champion Edi Orioli, brought new standards of safety and comfort off-road.
Our most sophisticated innovation to date, the D-Air® airbag system, saw the light of day as a small drawing Lino sketched on a paper napkin in 1995. Following intensive research and development, it made its first public appearance at Intermot, Munich, in 2000. Today it has become a brand within our brand and a proven, life-saving success on track and road.
Recognition of our expertise, research capabilities and ability to think “outside the box” to achieve “the impossible” have led to exciting advancements in new fields, including the new SkinSuit for the International Space Station, the BioSuit being developed for future NASA missions to Mars, and the Sea-Guard aerodynamic safety jacket created for the “flying machine” foiling catamarans of America’s Cup champions Emirates Team New Zealand.