Italian motorcycle kit firm Dainese assembled their top domestic and world championship-level superbike and Grand Prix supported riders for a special day of high-speed development work assessing the brand’s next generation of track riding gear .
Called Project Apex 2026, the exclusive event ran on Monday, August 24 at Misano World Circuit in Italy , with Dainese-backed riders given a series of next-generation products to test including leathers, gloves, boots, base layers, and more.
It was the second time the event had run, having first taken place at Mugello in 2025. Although a huge investment for the Italian brand, it takes the pressure off of development during race weekends – where a rider’s feedback could fluctuate depending on their success across the meeting.
MCN was on the ground for the day, talking to racers and company representatives about what makes it so special.
“In Dainese and AGV we are keen on innovation, and we are keen on using our champions to help us because they go to the limit,” Dainese CEO, Angel Sanchez told MCN. “If it’s good for them, it’s good for the average biker.”
Amongst the attendees this year was nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi , who appeared alongside current MotoGP riders including Marco Bezzecchi and Franco Morbidelli. They were joined by Stefano Manzi from the World Superbike paddock, plus fellow Dainese-backed riders including Andrea Iannone , Pol Espargaro, and more.
“They come here, they have fun, they try, they test, but they have all the time and the willingness to give us full details on everything that we are proposing to them,” Sanchez continued. “With them, we are shaping the future of protection.”
Structured in an open pit lane format, all racers were able to complete countless laps of the scorching 2.6-mile circuit aboard a series of largely road-derived machines, before feeding back to an army of over 50 Dainese engineers in pit lane.
All day the circuit was awash with the sound of Ducati and Aprilia V4s, crossplane crank Yamaha R1 s, yowling three-cylinder engines, and the occasional bark of a single-cylinder Moto3 racer. It was said that over 95 riding kit configurations were assessed across the event.
“You have your riders here, fully focussed on your products,” Dainese’s Chief Research and Development Officer, Massimo Varese added. “We follow them during the official races, but in those days they are only focussed on the races and bikes and so on, so it’s nearly impossible to have feedback.
“While here, they are fully open,” he continued, “they know that they are helping us in this kind of feedback and in one day last year we had so much information that normally in a full year we are not able to have.”
Each of the items tested during the day had already been subject to up to 18 months of development work both in laboratories and circuit environments, with the professional riders then used to feedback on comfort and usability during the most extreme of riding speeds.
“We do a lot of things on our own in the lab, with our testers and so on, but when you talk about riding suits or helmets developed for riders you can only test with them, because there is no one that takes the speed at 340kph, brakes to 80kph, and makes the curve,” Chief Marketing Officer, Cervigni Ferdinando said.
“What they feel is something that a normal human being cannot experience, so their judgement is – for us – incredibly important.
“That is, at the end of the day, why we are in the raci…