Shark (helmet manufacturer)

Shark was founded in 1986 by brothers and former professional racers André and Robert Teston in Marseille, France.^{[10][11][12][3][8]} In 1990, Raymond Roche won the Superbike World Championship wearing a Shark helmet, which increased the brand's popularity.^[11][7] Shark's XRC helmet was featured in Motorrad in 1995 as the "best helmet of the year."^[13][14] By the end of the 1990s, Shark had opened a factory in Thailand; in 2002, they added one in Portugal.^[7][13]

In 2005, AtriA Capital Partners acquired 2R Holdings, which included Shark. Among its first business moves was to open a sales subsidiary in the United Kingdom; by the following year, it had expanded to Germany.^[15][13] In 2008, Eurazeo bought out the Teston brothers, giving the company a controlling interest of 57%.^[7] In 2011, Shark acquired the Holding Trophy Group, which held Ségura, Bering, and Bagster brands, and subsequently opened subsidiaries in Chicago, Illinois and in Dallas, Texas in the United States.^[14][12][16] That year, Perceva Capital became the controlling interest in the company, and nearly 60% of Shark's sales came from outside of France.^[13][17][1] In 2016, a factory opened in Normandy, and in 2017, Shark began branching out into outdoor sports after it acquired Lyonnais Cairn.^[12][7] In 2019, 2R Holdings acquired Nolan Helmets and its X Lite, Grex, and N-Com brands, increasing the company's production capacity to 800,000 helmets annually.^{[2][18][7][19]} The company launched in the Philippines in 2019.^[20]

Professional racers who have worn Shark helmets include Jorge Lorenzo, Johann Zarco, Carl Fogarty, Troy Corser, Miguel Oliveira, Scott Redding, Sam Lowes, and Jorge Martin.^{[21][14][3][22][9]} As of 2019, Shark helmets had been worn by nearly 70 world champions in organizations such as MotoGP, FIA World Endurance Championship, and World Superbike.^[14] Shark has sponsored the French Grand Prix every year between 2019 and 2022.^[23][21]

Shark's flagship product was the Race-R PRO.^[22] In 1991, Shark became the first company to mass produce carbon-fiber lids (ACS) and both homologated full-face and open-face modular helmets.^{[18][14][13][7][6]} They use computational fluid dynamics to reduce "the 'buffeting effect', acoustic nuisances and the aerodynamic drag coefficient."^[14] The chinstrap on each helmet has a unique code that can be used to identify when and where it was made, most often in the event of a warranty claim.^[3]

SHARP rates the helmets 4-5 stars on average.^[8][4][6] Shark also meets DOT, ECE, and FIM standards.^[6][7] Part of the internal safety testing utilizes finite element methods.^[8] Biking enthusiasts rank Shark helmets in the top 10 safest brands.^[4][6]

Though Shark has factories in Thailand, Portugal, and Normandy, France, design work is done only in Marseille.^[2][12][19] By the end of the 1990s, Thailand primarily manufactured composite models, "the lightest and also the most expensive" part of the helmets.^[7] The Portuguese factory primarily makes "entry-level injected polycarbonate helmets."^[7] This shell is heavier than fiberglass helmets, but its thickness allows for a higher safety rating.^[8]