Is it time to replace your race suit? Let’s get you track-ready. The Alpinestars GP Race V3 set: what the step up from an Atom actually buys
If you have read the Atom guide on this site you will know the answer there came down to fit rather than safety. Same homologation, more money, better cut. The GP Race V3 sits a step above it, so the fair question is whether the same answer applies twice.
It does not, and this is the part worth knowing before you spend. Line the two suits up against each other and they are very nearly the same suit. Almost all of the difference on this set is in the boots and the gloves, and those two are a genuine jump.
This page runs through it the way I would at the counter. What the extra buys, then the three items, then all five colourways with the boots and gloves I would put with each. I am Cameron, by the way.
The set at a glance
- Homologation
- FIA 8856-2018Suit, boots and gloves, all three
- Suit sizes
- 44 to 66One size further than the Atom stops
- Colourways
- 5 suits, 7 boots, 6 glovesThe accessories go further than the suit does
- Availability
- Every size, every colourAll 181 variations in stock
What the extra buys
Four things, and only one of them is on the suit.
Extraction epaulettes
Shoulder epaulettes built as designated lifting points, so marshals have somewhere to take hold of if you need getting out of the car. This is the one thing the GP Race suit has that the Atom’s description does not list. You will hopefully never learn whether they work, which is rather the point of paying for them.
An F1 sole and a speed lace
The Tech 1-Z V3 uses a thin rubber sole derived from what Alpinestars builds for Formula 1, and a speed lace paired with a flat wire support that pulls the boot closed evenly instead of tightening wherever your fingers happen to be. This is the biggest single jump anywhere in the set.
A published 20 per cent
Alpinestars states the Tech 1-ZX V4 improves heat resistance by almost 20% over the V3 it replaces. Published numbers like that are rare on racewear, and this is the only hard figure in the whole comparison.
Less silicone, more feel
The palm print has been redesigned with less surface area than the previous glove, which sounds backwards until you wear them. Less silicone means more feel through the palm, and the grip holds up because of where it is placed rather than how much of it there is.
| Alpinestars Atom | Alpinestars GP Race V3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Homologation | FIA 8856-2018 | FIA 8856-2018 |
| Construction | 2 layer Aramidic | 2 layer Aramidic |
| Fully floating arms | Yes | Yes |
| Pre-curved arms and legs | Yes | Yes |
| Stretch panels | Yes | Yes |
| Adjustable waist belt | Yes | Yes |
| Ergonomic collar | Yes | Yes |
| Extraction epaulettes | Not stated | Yes |
| Thigh pockets | Yes | Not stated |
| Published fabric weight | 420 g/m² | Not stated |
| Suit sizes | 44 to 64 | 44 to 66 |
| Colourways | 4 | 5 |
Every line read off the two product descriptions on this site rather than a brochure.
The suit
Two layers of Aramidic twill over a soft knitted liner, which is what the standard asks for and what the Atom does too. The arms float off the shoulder, the arms and legs are pre-curved to the shape you sit in, and there are stretch panels through the lumbar and the crotch. All of that the Atom has as well.
What this suit adds is the epaulette extraction system across the shoulders, which gives marshals a designated point to lift from, and ribbed cuffs at the wrist and ankle that keep the suit where you put it when you pull boots and gloves on over the top.
It runs 44 to 66, a size further than the Atom at the top end, and there are five colourways. If you are broad across the shoulders or tall, that extra size is a better reason to buy this suit than any of the features are.
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The boots
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This is the piece that justifies the set, and it is worth being blunt about that.
The closure is the interesting part. A speed lace system paired with a flat wire support, so the boot pulls closed evenly rather than tightening in the two places your fingers happen to be. Fewer pressure points, and you can get into it quickly, which matters more than it sounds when somebody is telling you to get in the car.
The sole is thin rubber taken from what Alpinestars builds for Formula 1. Thin is the point. You want to feel where the pedal is through the boot, and you want to get your foot between two pedals without catching the one next door. There are perforation zones through the upper for airflow, a fire-resistant elastic collar and tongue, and micro-porous padding in the heel and the footbed.
Seven colourways, which is two more than the suit gets, and that is where the colour section below earns its place.
The gloves
The Tech 1-ZX V4 is the top of the Tech 1 range and the only piece here with a number attached. Alpinestars puts the heat resistance at almost 20% better than the V3 it replaces.
Beyond that it is about the palm. The 3D silicone print has been redesigned with less surface area than the previous model, so there is more feel through the palm without losing grip. The seams are on the outside, so nothing rubs across your fingers, and the shape is pre-curved to a hand that is already holding a wheel.
The thumb and second fingertips work on a touchscreen, and the back of the hand is a dual-sided honeycomb fabric that actually breathes. Six colourways, S to XXL.
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Which colours go together
All three pieces come in more than one colour and they do not line up neatly, so this is worth two minutes before you order.
Two of the five suits get an exact match on both the boots and the gloves. Black & Fluro Yellow lines up with the Black & Fluorescent Yellow boot and the Tar Grey, Black & Fluro Yellow glove. Anthracite & Red lines up with either red boot and the Black & Red glove. Those two are easy.
Black & Silver gets an exact boot and a glove a shade darker, because there is no silver glove. Silver & Anthracite is tonal on both.
Then there is Anthracite & Blue, which is the one to know about. There is a Black & Blue glove that matches it exactly, and no blue boot at all. It is the one suit in the range where you can finish the hands and not the feet.
Swatch colours are sampled from our own product photography. The colour names are the ones on the product pages, so what you read here is what you pick at checkout.
All five colourways, worn
All five colourways, each with the boots and gloves I would put with it. The colourway named under each shot is the exact variation on our site, so you can order what you are looking at.
Black & Fluro Yellow
The only set in the range where one accent runs cleanly through all three pieces. If you want to be picked out from the far side of the circuit, this is the one.
Anthracite & Red
Grey suit, red across the shoulders, and the red picked up exactly by the boots and the gloves. The most restrained way to wear a colour in this range and my pick of the five.
Black & Silver
An exact boot match and a glove that sits a shade darker than the suit’s silver. Nobody but you will notice, and it still reads as a set.
Anthracite & Blue
The blue glove matches the suit exactly. There is no blue boot, so black and silver is the honest answer rather than the matching one.
Fit and sizing
| Piece | Sizes | How it runs | What to measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| GP Race V3 suit | 44 to 66 | Cut to be worn over fireproof underwear, with stretch panels through the lumbar and crotch so it gives where it needs to. The waist belt takes up slack if you are between two sizes. | Chest and inside leg with a tape, off Alpinestars’ own chart rather than your jacket size. |
| Tech 1-Z V3 boots | UK 4 to UK 12 | Narrow, as a race boot should be. The speed lace and flat wire support pull it closed evenly, so it is more forgiving of an awkward instep than a plain lace boot. | Every size carries its EU number too, EU 37 to EU 47, so buy off that if it is the one you know. |
| Tech 1-ZX V4 gloves | S to XXL | Pre-curved with the seams on the outside, so they feel short with your hand flat and right when your hand is closed on a wheel. | Round your palm. Try them with the suit sleeve on rather than on their own. |
What else sits at this money
If you are spending this much on a set it is worth seeing what else is on the shelf at the same money before you commit. The OMP First Evo and the Tecnica Hybrid sit either side of the GP Race V3 on price, and the Atom is the suit this whole page has been comparing against.
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From £423.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £410.00 Excl. VAT Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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What I would actually buy
The Anthracite & Red, and I would not think about it for long. The red is doing just enough, the boots and the gloves pick it up exactly, and it will still look like a considered set in three seasons when a fluro yellow one has started to look of its year.
If the budget is tight, buy the boots first and leave the suit. The Tech 1-Z V3 is the biggest single improvement in this set over an Atom one, and a good boot outlasts two suits.
Final thoughts
The GP Race V3 is not much of a step on the suit. Coming from an Atom you gain the extraction epaulettes and a size at either end, and you lose the published fabric weight and the thigh pockets from the spec sheet. That is a fair trade rather than an upgrade.
Where it earns the difference is on your feet and your hands. If you have only ever raced in an entry-level boot, the Tech 1-Z V3 is the piece you will notice on your first lap out. That is an unusual thing to say in a set guide, but it is what these products actually are.