Racing Force announces major expansion project for Bahrain headquarters

TDT | Manama                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Racing Force Group, in partnership with Bahrain International Circuit, has announced the expansion project for the headquarters of its subsidiary company Racing Force International at Sakhir, Bahrain, in order to meet the significant growing demand from the global motorsport market for Bell Racing helmets products.

The project involves the construction of a second floor for the current plant, bringing the total surface area from 7,000 to 12,000 square metres, approximately corresponding to a 60% extension.

The building is set to completed within the end of 2023, giving Racing Force Group the opportunity to double the Bell Racing brand 2022 manufacturing capacity, including the ordinary racing helmets range developed for different disciplines, as well as the collectable Bell Mini Helmets which replicate in 1:2 scale the models used by the FIA Formula 1 World Championship and World Rally Championship stars.

The Racing Force Group plant in Sakhir hosts the production and research & development center for the Bell Racing brand.

Being adjacent to the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), it contributed to establishing a hub of excellence for the motorsport industry in the Middle East.

The Racing Force Group announcement comes during the landmark Bahrain Grand Prix weekend that kicks-off the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. This season has 70% of race drivers (14 out of 20) wearing Bell helmets: among them, Logan Sargeant, Guanyu Zhou and Nyck De Vries visited the facility on the eve of the weekend.

"We are excited to begin the work on the expansion of our Sakhir facility,” Racing Force Group CEO Paolo Delprato said.

“First of all, I want to thank the Bahrain International Circuit promoters, CEO Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa and the wider support from Bahrain that we have received again for this project, as a confirmation of a successful and longstanding collaboration.

“This initiative fits into our strategy to strengthen all the Racing Force Group brands, as we will further increase the Bell Racing helmets share among major motorsport competitions, like Formula 1, WRC, Formula E, IndyCar and NASCAR Cup Series, and the amateur drivers’ market.

“Since the Bell Racing acquisition in 2019, we have doubled the helmets production and we aim to repeat this growing rate through the headquarter expansion. The boom of motorsport aficionados we are seeing among the younger generations too, is also helping our Bell Mini Helmets to become a hit merchandising product, one which we strongly believe in."

Bahrain International Circuit CEO Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa said the expansion of the Bell facility is a reflection of the incredible success of this iconic motorsport brand.

“We are delighted to support the team in their expansion plans, which will meet the incredible demand for both their racing and collectable helmets,” he said.