In the world of sport, what you wear is just as important as how you wear it – and a race suit is no different. It must protect the driver from danger, feel comfortable to wear, and provide the right mobility behind the wheel of a hugely fast racing car. In having developed racewear for thousands of successful racing drivers, HRX has tasted success across several different categories.
Established in 2012 by Ago Alberghino in Turin, HRX has evolved from a passion project into one of motorsport’s biggest racewear brands. With years of experience working with two of the largest motorsporting race equipment companies, Alberghino felt that on turning 50, he would launch his own and develop HRX’s unique approach to working with the consumer at the race track.
“I spent all my life in motorsport,” Alberghino says. “I was born with this need, and when I was young I started to race in the Renault 5 Cup. I decided it was the time to dedicate my latest part of my life to build something – and in nine years, we found our market. I think the fact that I’m really involved with motorsport, that I like motorsport, gives to me the right connection with our customer.”
HRX has enjoyed a particularly purple patch in motorsport of late. Together with United Autosports, the two claimed victory in the LMP2 class of the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans, and provided racewear to 2021 Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves – who claimed his fourth Indy 500 win driving for Meyer Shank Racing.
HRX helped lay groundwork for Castroneves’ fourth Indy 500 win four months earlier
The Italian company has also enjoyed recent success in other championships too, backing Ashley Sutton’s two British Touring Car Championship titles. Alberghino explains that the race service that HRX provides has been a significant part of converting teams and drivers to its line of products.
“We have teams that decided to work with us due to the quality of the material, and especially due to the service, and because we are speaking the same language,” he explains. “For me, all these team owners or team managers are not customers; we are friends with these people and we have a personal relationship talking about motorsport.
“I think the last two years, especially with Le Mans last year where United won LMP2, we’re doing a lot together. In the US where we are growing a lot, where this year Castroneves won the Indy 500 with our suit, I think was the time to let the people know more about the roots of HRX.”
HRX, Alberghino explains, operates like a race team; racewear companies after all do more than simply send off-the-peg overalls to a driver. Everything is tailored to fit the driver and, after the initial measurements are turned into a bespoke race suit design, HRX provides trackside service to ensure the driver continues to remain comfortable in their kit.
For Castroneves and his Meyer Shank team, HRX got a headstart on preparing for their Indy 500 entry by sizing up the driver and his crew at the Daytona 24 Hours race in January.
Alberghino’s enthusiasm for motorsport is clear
“We are going up and down by aeroplane to supply everything, all the time. We have people that follow the races with the drivers. For Helio, we started to size the team in Daytona. We took his sizes to make the perfect suit for him, so we started four months before.
“Next month we will have Le Mans, and we will attend for more or less two weeks. We have to provide everything before the test day, because there is scrutineering and the photoshoot. If there is something that they need, we must be there. If there is something to adjust, we are able to adjust it for the day after – so this service for the big races is what we give daily to our customer.”
Alberghino also explained that HRX provides no compromises in delivering the best product it can to its racing teams. Developing lighter materials that keep the drivers cool and comfortable while also adhering to all FIA-mandated safety requirements are critical in racewear development, and HRX’s mantra has been to employ the best quality materials available in its products.
“The rule that we set at the start was that we must try to be one of the best. And there is only one way: to make no compromise in choosing the material that we are using to define our suits and other products. Our top level suit for professionals is called the Zero Icon, and the reason why we call it that is because of zero compromise.
Sophia Florsch is kitted out by HRX in the DTM
“The key was not to make compromises in choosing material. The suit must be light and must have the best perspiration – these are the two key points. To provide these two roles, there is no reason to chooser a low-cost material that could be similar in a technical degree, because in reality, they have a big difference.”
Providing the right service with the right products is key for any company to be a success, and HRX is carrying that maxim into the world of motorsport with its range of bespoke and customer products. What you wear in motorsport is as important as how you wear it – and choosing the right racewear brand for you can help in both respects.
Tom Ingram is among the group of BTCC drivers now sporting HRX racewear