Two Italian Brands, One Birth Year, a Multi-Series Racewear Deal
Two companies founded in 1963, in the same country, building reputations in adjacent corners of performance: it took six decades, but Lamborghini and Alpinestars are now formally linked. Announced at Sebring, the long-term partnership covers every major racing program Squadra Corse currently runs, and it reads as the latest move in Lamborghini’s campaign to build the full institutional infrastructure around a factory motorsport operation that is still young by the standards of its rivals.
Alpinestars will supply racewear across the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America, the SC63 LMDh effort in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP class, and GT3 competition. This is not a single-series sponsorship sticker. It is a commitment that stretches from gentleman-driver one-make racing all the way to prototype endurance, and it mirrors the kind of deeply embedded technical-apparel relationships that Ferrari and Porsche locked in years ago. Lamborghini formalizing its own, with a fellow Italian firm born the same year, fits the pattern of a manufacturer still assembling the pieces around a top-tier factory program.
What Alpinestars Actually Brings to the Paddock
Racewear partnerships rarely generate the same excitement as a new aero package, but they directly affect how long a driver can stay sharp in the cockpit. In endurance formats like the IMSA GTP class, where stints run long and cockpit temperatures climb, the suit, gloves, and boots become performance tools, not just safety equipment. Plugging into a supplier whose development pipeline feeds off data from F1, MotoGP, NASCAR, WRC, and the Dakar Rally gives Squadra Corse access to a breadth of racewear R&D that few competitors can match through a single vendor.
Lamborghini marketing director Christian Mastro framed the deal in those terms, saying Alpinestars’ expertise will support driver safety, performance, and comfort. Alpinestars’ Chris Hillard described it as a comprehensive technical partnership aimed at protecting drivers and crews across multiple competitions and categories. Neither executive specified which product lines or technologies would be deployed, so the exact gear Squadra Corse drivers will wear remains unconfirmed.
Alpinestars conducts its research, design, and development at facilities in Italy and the United States, drawing on more than 60 years of top-level racing involvement. For context, Ferrari works with Puma for its racewear and lifestyle apparel, while Porsche customer programs frequently feature Sparco or Stand21 equipment. Lamborghini choosing Alpinestars keeps the supply chain Italian and aligns with a manufacturer whose motorsport client list is genuinely broad. Whether that translates into a measurable competitive advantage depends on details neither company has disclosed.
The Programs That Stand to Benefit Most
The Super Trofeo series is the volume play. Over 30 cars typically line up at each round across three continental championships, and every one of those customer drivers now falls under the Alpinestars umbrella, bringing consistent racewear standards from Sebring to Suzuka.
The LMDh program, though, is where the partnership carries the most strategic weight. Lamborghini’s SC63 prototype competes in the GTP class against factory efforts from Porsche, BMW, Cadillac, and Acura. It is also the most ambitious factory racing commitment in Lamborghini’s history, and Road & Track reported that the program faced an early exit at the 2025 Rolex 24, underscoring how steep the learning curve remains at this level. Locking in a racewear partner with deep endurance experience across WEC and IMSA makes practical sense for a team still building institutional knowledge in prototype racing. If the partnership eventually extends into bespoke development for the hybrid SC63’s specific cockpit environment, where thermal management presents challenges that differ from a conventional GT car, the value could grow considerably. Neither company has addressed that possibility yet.
GT3 rounds out the list. With the Temerario GT3 on the horizon as the successor to the Huracán-based car, the timing aligns with a platform transition that will eventually touch every customer team in the GT paddock.
Co-Branded Merchandise and What Fans Can Expect
Beyond the competition side, a co-branded licensing project is planned for unveiling sometime in 2025. Lamborghini confirmed the range will include merchandise, though specific items, pricing, and availability remain undisclosed.
The practical question for fans and collectors is whether this will be another logo-swap capsule collection or something with genuine design investment. Lamborghini’s recent collaborations suggest the brand is selective about where its badge appears, and Alpinestars already produces lifestyle apparel alongside its competition gear. The overlap between the two audiences is obvious, but what actually shows up on shelves could range from branded track-day gloves to casual streetwear. Until the companies reveal specifics, the only confirmed detail is that the merchandise will exist.
Reading Between the Lines at Sebring
Racewear deals do not usually warrant their own announcement cycle. Staging this one at Sebring, alongside the opening round of the Super Trofeo North America season and the 12 Hours of Sebring weekend, signals that Squadra Corse wants the partnership read as part of a broader professionalization push, not a footnote in a supplier spreadsheet.
That framing matters because Lamborghini entered top-tier factory racing recently and is still closing the organizational gap with manufacturers who have decades of prototype and GT infrastructure behind them. Formalizing a racewear relationship of this scope, one that touches every driver and crew member from the one-make series through the GTP paddock, is the kind of behind-the-scenes move that rarely makes headlines but quietly raises the operational baseline. The answer to whether it delivers a genuine edge will come on track, not in an announcement. For now, the drivers and crews will be wearing Alpinestars, and Lamborghini’s motorsport operation looks a little more like the established factory programs it is chasing.
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