Team INEOS (United Kingdom) - Press Release: Silverstone Paint Technology have joined Team INEOS’ portfolio as Official Technical Partners.

The partnership, set to run through to the end of 2020, will see Silverstone Paint Technology (SPT) work on reducing the mass of the team’s bikes, while ensuring creative and eye-catching liveries are achieved.

Established in 2008, SPT engineer innovative coating techniques in order to maximise the potential of every high-performance application. With its foundations beginning in the ultra-competitive world of Formula One, the last 11 years have seen SPT’s coatings and paintwork being utilised by a number of F1 teams, featuring on 800+ cars and resulting in eight F1 World Championships. Today, over 30% of the 2019 F1 grid is serviced by SPT.

The SPT team have, during this time, transferred their approach and expertise to benefit additional elite-level sports, including professional cycling and specifically Team GB track cycling. The British squad went on to win 11 medals including six golds at the 2016 Rio Olympics on SPT painted bikes.

From its facility based in Northamptonshire, SPT has been working for a number of months behind the scenes with the Team INEOS performance team on the run up to the 2019 Tour de France. To date, SPT has successfully liveried Pinarello’s F12 X-Light and Bolide TT bikes for all members of this year’s Team INEOS Tour de France team.

SPT’s team of specialist engineers will continue to work closely with Team INEOS engineers, riders and staff, providing support in the relentless pursuit of performance gains through mass reduction, improving speed and efficiency, whilst delivering striking liveries.

Merging design and engineering is a challenge that SPT relishes. Working in microns and milligrams, they operate within the demanding sphere of elite competition.

Carsten Jeppesen, Head of Technical Operations and Commercial, said: "We are really excited about this new partnership with Silverstone Paint Technology.

“SPT have a wealth of experience working in Formula One and we are looking forward to them bringing that expertise into the world of cycling with Team INEOS.

“Mass reduction and minimising the weight of our bikes enables us to focus on developing the best equipment possible to help our riders in all environments. At the same time, SPT’s innovation will enable us to apply advanced liveries to our bikes that best represent the Team INEOS brand.”

Mark Turner, SPT Co-Founder and CEO, added: “The team here at SPT will be providing Team INEOS with the knowledge and expertise to significantly reduce bike mass and improve surface finish, whilst retaining the critical detail and definition.

“We are really excited to be working with Team INEOS, as this feels like a natural fit for us. The team’s focus and determination on marginal gains go hand in hand with our ethos. We are looking forward to using our F1 experience and expertise at the pinnacle of cycling.”