MotoGP: "Dear riders, hand on heart: stop wearing animal-leather suits"

This weekend, when you watch MotoGP at Mugello and Superbike at Aragon live on TV, think about how many kangaroos and cattle have been killed to outfit the 102 riders in action. A bloodbath that could end immediately. It just takes the will, because a synthetic alternative exists.

LAV (Anti-Vivisection League) has carried out a very thorough study on the suits used by all riders in the World Championship (MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3) and Superbike. Among these 102 riders, as of today only one wears an animal-free suit: Alberto Surra (in the opening photo), the season’s revelation, who wears a Virus Multiprotective suit. The most widespread brand is Alpinestars, which equips 51 riders (68%) with the Racing Absolute V2, a suit made of “kangaroo and bovine leather.” In second place is Dainese with 15 riders (20%): its Mugello RR D-air and the Demone GP are made entirely of kangaroo leather.

At Mugello, LAV will be present with stations at the entrances to explain what lies behind the safety of the riders we love. Thousands of kangaroos killed every year, with a blow to the head. A slaughter that also costs the lives of the joeys, who have no commercial use and are killed by crushing the skull after their mother is killed. In Australia, hunting is authorized by the government: 4.5 million are exterminated every year. Marco Melandri, former World Champion, is one of the riders most sensitive to social and ethical issues: he is the perfect ambassador for this campaign. "I wore these suits for years without knowing what they were made of. Now I know, and I want riders and all fans to know it too," says Marco.

Marco Melandri explains the idea. "You work on the bike to improve performance, a lot of work has gone into safety, you work on your body to be more fit; it’s also important to protect others and, in this case, animals—kangaroos. When you go to Australia to greet the kangaroos, try to think that the next one could be the one you wear. Put your hand on your heart and choose materials that are alternatives to animal leather. Sometimes we cling to tradition, we’re afraid to change. But just like with airbags, which at first were seen as something heavy and hot—because air didn’t pass through—now they’re something you can’t do without. Now the synthetic alternative exists. The material a suit is made of matters, but it’s less important than people think.”

The use of synthetic materials is already allowed by the International Motorcycling Federation’s regulations: "Shall be constructed from leather or an equivalent material which satisfies the requirements of Table 1, column 1." The wording is identical for all three classes (MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3) and also applies to gloves and boots. The Regulations do not mandate animal leather: they require that the material meets specific technical parameters for abrasion, tear, and burst resistance (“Table 1”). Synthetic materials that meet these thresholds are fully homologable. Therefore, there is no regulatory obstacle to an animal-free transition: it is an industrial and commercial choice by the brands, not a regulatory constraint.

LAV has been carrying out this campaign for some time and is raising awareness among leading Italian apparel companies. "We are also contacting the teams, manufacturers, and the promoter Dorna Sports to conclude a discussion on the unsustainability of the ‘kangaroo’ supply chain and to identify alternative, animal-free solutions," explains Simone Pavesi, head of LAV’s Animal Free Fashion Area. "To date, we have not received any feedback, and for this reason we have launched the campaign Ride Smart. Go K-Free! Inviting millions of fans to support our appeal.”