OMP AND MAHINDRA RACING
Ahead of Season 7, world-leading Italian brand OMP Racing joined the Mahindra Racing family in a multi-year partnership as the team’s official supplier of driver wear. We spoke to OMP Racing’s President and CEO, Paolo Delprato about the company and their new venture into Formula E with Mahindra Racing:
With almost 50 years of experience within the industry and having been involved across the biggest global racing championships such as F1, WRC and NASCAR, how has OMP developed as a brand?
It’s been a long road, a continuous growth, but the great part is that there’s still a long way to go. Since the ownership and management switch in 2008, OMP has been capable of expanding its presence through every competition, most of all with an excellent adaption to the dramatic changes of the market. Last year we acquired a leading brand – Bell Racing – giving life to the biggest group in the market of motorsport safety devices. It was quite a thrill if you look back to where the OMP brand started from; literally a garage and a welding machine. In 2023 we’re celebrating our 50th birthday, it’ll be a great chance to revisit our history.
This year will see OMP join the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship for the first time – what attracts you to the electric-racing series now and how do you see it developing in the coming years?
In fact, OMP has already been involved in Formula E, with our safety harnesses being on all the racing cars since season one. Now in its seventh season, we can say Formula E has definitely silenced every form of sceptical criticism about its competitive level. It’s real, emotional racing, and has earned lots of fans. Also, the future of the four wheels is electric, so I think all this is destined to last.
Why did OMP choose to partner with Mahindra Racing?
Formula E is a laboratory for the future, as I suggested before, and its environment is highly professional and technologically hyper-skilled. This is what we look for in a championship and race team, and Mahindra Racing is undoubtedly one of the most forward-thinking teams.
Mahindra Racing and OMP have a shared passion for technology and innovation and you have recently acquired Zeronoise, the company behind the ‘Driver’s Eye’ camera footage in Formula E – how do you see our partnership help drive other exciting new concepts in the sport?
Yes, we are very proud of ZeroNoise, a young fresh startup which represents OMP’s technological range of products. There’s plenty of ideas we can work on in the lively world of Formula E, and our partnership with Mahindra Racing can surely be a mutual enrichment from this point of view.
