RUDY PROJECT joins DMG MORI Sailing Team as technical partner
- By Editorial Team
Rudy Project strengthens its commitment to international sailing with the announcement of a new partnership with DMG MORI Sailing Team, Japan’s first professional offshore sailing team. The collaboration will support the team and its skipper, Kojiro Shiraishi, throughout the 2026-2028 racing campaign. The three-year agreement will accompany a competitive cycle that includes The Ocean Race 2027 and the Vendée Globe 2028. The partnership reflects Rudy Project’s commitment to supporting athletes and teams that embody innovation, resilience and an adventurous spirit, while further strengthening the brand’s presence in sailing. Rudy Project Italy and Rudy Project Japan have collaborated with Kojiro Shiraishi for more than two decades. The partnership began in 2002, when Shiraishi was competing as an independent sailor, and has continued since 2018, when he became skipper of the DMG MORI Sailing Team. DMG MORI Sailing Team selected Rudy Project for its lens technologies, capable of maximizing contrast in changing light conditions while effectively managing glare and reflections on the water.
“Rudy Project has always chosen to support athletes and teams facing the most extreme challenges, because it is precisely in these contexts that technology is truly put to the test and can demonstrate its full potential. Ocean sailing is one of the most demanding environments in the world in terms of performance, reliability, and protection, and collaborating with the DMG MORI Sailing Team allows us to develop and validate solutions that meet these demands,” commented Simone Barbazza, Marketing Director and co-owner of Rudy Project. “We are also proud to share with Kojiro Shiraishi and the team a deep commitment to protecting the oceans and the environment: a concrete commitment that played an important role in the formation of this partnership and that fully reflects Rudy Project’s value”. Throughout training sessions, deliveries and offshore races, the DMG MORI Sailing Team will rely on custom Rudy Project eyewear and helmet: Turbolence sunglasses equipped with Multilaser Red lenses and Lightflow A sunglasses featuring Polar 3FX ML Red lenses. Both models incorporate an elegant laser engraving on the lens displaying the team’s name. The helmet will be the best-selling Nytron, for outstanding protection blended with an advanced ventilation system. Rudy Project’s partnership with the DMG MORI Sailing Team joins an elite portfolio of collaborations that includes the Italian Cycling Federation, WorldTour Team Bahrain Victorious, triathletes Gregory Barnaby, Kieran Lindars and Nick Thompson, cross-country skiing stars Federico Pellegrino and Heidi Weng, biathlete Johannes Dale and several of the world’s leading national speed skating teams. Rudy Project also serves as the Official Eyewear Partner of the UTMB® World Series.
