About Us

An introduction to Racetech Manufacturing NZ Ltd. (Racetech)

Based in Wellington, New Zealand, Racetech operates on a global basis. Racetech has an extensive international dealer and distributor network, supplying motorsport seats, harnesses and accessories.

We’re proud to say that we are world-renowned for our Racetech race seats. Our composite and carbon fibre race seats are fitted to thousands of race cars – touring cars, rally cars, drift, drag and speedway cars – all over the world, as well as many race boats and other sport seat applications.

The design, testing, manufacture and sale of our comprehensive range of Racetech race seats forms the heart of our business and we also distribute and sell numerous other top class race products.

Racetech has worked, and continues to work with the Federation Internationale De L’Automobile (FIA) on numerous development and testing projects, and our team is regularly consulted by national motorsport organisations regarding appropriate technical standards and improved safety within racecars. As an example of this in 2003 Managing Director, David Black, was invited by the FIA Institute to assist in developing the new 8862-2009 seat standard. This standard founded many of its regulations on earlier work done in collaboration with Dodge and the Viper project.

You’ll find Racetech personnel won’t hesitate to ‘tell it like it is’ and provide concise facts about any of our products. Racetech helps set the safety standards, then delivers the right products.

Safety in motorsport

Safety is a serious matter. That’s why our expert team is passionate about the tiny details of seats, harnesses and other vital components of your racing machine that really do make a difference in terms of safety. After all, there’s always a risk of damage in any form of competitive motorsport, but we must do all we can to reduce the likelihood of injury to you, the motorsport competitors of the world.

Some simple philosophies and facts about motorsport crashes:

If you support the human body well enough in the right places and keep all parts of the body in the same relationship to each other, a body can withstand enormous decelerations with minimal or no injuries. 100G is quite survivable.
The four parts of the body which need this support are the head, shoulders, pelvis and thighs.
Lateral/side impacts cause more serious injuries than frontal impacts.
The body should be stopped as close to the chassis deceleration as possible.
Only 20% of body movement in a frontal deceleration is in belt stretch; the balance is body reconfiguration.
Using a crash recorder in the field, we have measured an 81G lateral impact during use of a Racetech seat in a New Zealand motorsport class. The driver had no injury... and the seat had no damage.

Our speciality: Racetech race seats

The latest ranges of Racetech race seats have a unique and patented back mount distinguishing them from competitors’ offerings.

A Racetech seat’s lack of flex during impact – due to the back mount – is a key reason a Racetech seat is the world’s best. Mounting the seat from the back, in addition to the traditional floor mount, enhances the driver’s feel of the race car. Why? Because there’s a lack of flex in the shoulder area which also helps reduce driver fatigue and improves driver safety. Tests have also shown that chassis stiffness is enhanced due to Racetech’s unique six-way mounting method which helps improve car handling and the ability to tune the chassis.

Developed in collaboration with the FIA, Racetech seats are used by some of the world’s leading teams and constructors, including the whole field of the Swedish TTA, 26 out of 28 Australian V8 Supercars, the FIA World Rally Championship, the British Touring Car Championship and in offshore powerboat racing.

Racetech seats are some of the strongest, safest and most supportive seats available.

Our top-of-the-range seats have unique features such as:

Driver cooling – a simple, nothing-to-fail system that works effectively as proved over and over by most V8 Supercar drivers.
Attachment points at the extremity of the head and shoulder supports to ensure side-nets don’t pull away from the seat during impact.
All Racetech seats have parallel sides for ease of fitting and driver positioning.
The steel of all fixing bosses comes through the composite to ensure ease of bolt thread starting and additional strength at crucial load points.

Other world-leading Racetech products – harnesses and accessories

Racetech harnesses and side-nets complement our range of race seats and enhance the safety package in your racing car.

Racetech FIA harnesses are manufactured in UK and sold in many motorsport environments from touring cars, various Formula race cars, rally cars, speedway and sports cars.

Racetech side-nets were developed in conjunction with Dodge during the Comp Coupe project in 2002 and have been tested with great success in the US market. V8 Supercars are now adopting this vital additional, cost effective safety product.

Top class racing supplies – fire systems, brakes and more

Racetech travels the world talking to race teams, vehicle manufacturers and likeminded suppliers. Naturally we’ve come across other race car products which we think meet the same high standards as our own and that’s why we import and distribute Hawk brake pads, Quarter Master clutches, Lifeline fire systems, Goodridge fluid transfer systems, steering wheels and electrical products such as Monit trip-meters and Terratrip intercoms.

Racetech history

1992	Company formed in Christchurch, New Zealand
1996	First FIA-homologated race seat produced to 1992 Standard
1998	David Black purchases Racetech; moves company to Wellington, New Zealand Racetech produces first 8855-1999 FIA Standard homologated race seat
2000	Three Racetech seat models tested to FIA 8855-1999 Standard with both Hybrid 2 and 3 dummies. One of the three was the first Racetech seat designed with side head restraint
2001	Launched Racetech to US market at PRI show and established first contact with Daimler Chrysler
2002	Racetech invited to be part of development programme with Daimler Chrysler Extensive race seat testing done to 45G in all directions Four more seats tested to FIA Standard including two for Daimler Chrysler which then launched the Dodge Viper competition coupe with a new safety package including Racetech seats
2003	Australian V8 Supercar teams and drivers endorse new seat concept but demand lighter version New Zealand Speedway Association approves Racetech FIA seats for speedway use. Most competitors in ‘full contact’ stock cars, where 80-100G hits are common, adopt Racetech seats. These human ‘crash dummies’ provide great data! FIA Institute requests Racetech involvement in rally car seat development programme following deaths of American rally drivers Mark Lovell and Roger Freeman
2004	Racetech’s new lightweight seat with forced air driver cooling is homologated by the FIA
2005	Racetech wins contract to supply seats to Prodrive-run Subaru World Rally Team for 2006 WRC based on technical performance Racetech launches new carbon composite sprint car seat – another first in market
2006	SFI build seat test rig; Racetech seat is first to be tested and pass draft standard
2007	Racetech works closely with FIA Institute to finalise new seat standard Racetech’s composite seat recognised and approved by US Sprint Car sanctioning bodies
2008	Racetech’s new carbon seat tested and passed by Cranfield University Impact Centre to Draft FIA 8862-2009 Standard SWRT places order for new Racetech seats prior to WRC Rally Japan – the seats are part of safety package which saves drivers Chris Atkinson and Stephan Prevot in big crash at Wales Rally GB
2009	Majority of V8 Supercar teams purchase Racetech FIA 8862-2009 seats; good acceptance by teams
2010	Racetech homologates six models of seat to FIA Standard 8862-2009, variants in a carbon/Kevlar mix and a more economical fibreglass composite construction. The improved lateral strength provided by back-mounting means that the RT4129 is the only fibreglass seat in the world to pass 8862-2009
2011	Development and launch of 119 range of back-mounted seats to FIA 8855-1999 standard. Because of slow implementation by the FIA of the higher 8862 standard, Racetech develops a range of seats at approx. half the weight and half the cost of the 8862 seats while maintaining most of the features of the 129 range
2012	Racetech seats selected to supply seats for all entrants of the Swedish TTA (Touring Car Team Association) Racing Elite League, a new professional touring car series which started April 2012 Racetech seats chosen for front-running Asia Pacific Rally Championship team, MRF Skoda The two remaining V8 Supercar crews not currently using Racetech seats make commitment to Racetech product for the 2013 Car Of The Future (COTF) programme Racetech USA opens its doors in Mooresville, North Carolina on a road aptly named Gasoline Alley
2014	The company relocates to a modern facility in Seaview, Wellington. Equipped with a CNC cutting table and robot, the new factory can accurately produce its high performance race seats in greater numbers. Racetech Europe Limited begins trading from a warehouse in Staffordshire in order to hold a larger inventory and provide better support and service to Europe and the UK
2015	Two new seat sizes, the wide 9129WHR and 4129WHR receive FIA 8862-2009 Approval, growing the 129 Series to a total of 7 seat variants.
2016	Racetech homologate another two seats to FIA 8862-2009, one of which, the RT9129HRWP is developed in consultation with a premier motorsport manufacturer. Supercars, World Rallycross and BTCC champions all win using Racetech 129 Series seats.
2017	25 years! In October, Racetech celebrates its 25th Birthday and also has an extremely successful year working with, and supplying seats to, many front-running GT teams.
2018	The RT4339 Stockcar seat was developed featuring 100mm of energy absorbing impact foam in the head restraint. The resin infusion process was developed for the production of the RT4100 series of seats. Le Mans and Supercars race winners crossed the finishline in Racetech seats.
2019	The RT4339 Stockcar seat is released to the market and becomes a driver and fan favourite. The RT4100 series of seats hit the NZ and Aus market and shortly after are released into UK and USA markets.Ractech NZ is recognised as the official NZ distributor for HANS devices

Racetech’s David Black – a passion for motorsport safety

David Black Nissan Racetech is headed by David Black and it’s no secret that motorsport safety is his passion.

Drawing on his own experience as a championship-winning competitor, David understands the need to balance cost vs. having the right equipment to effectively protect racers in the event of a crash. He’s also experienced first-hand the results of severe impacts in a rally car.

When he bought Racetech in 1998, the company was essentially a one-man operation. In less than five years from that time, David had personally started to amass a wealth of scientific and technical knowledge which put the company well on the path to its current position as a world leader in race seat design and engineering.

Facts talk in the safety business and that’s why you’ll find David now heads a team of detail-conscious, data-driven designers, engineers and fabricators.

Biography of David Black, President/Managing Director, Racetech Manufacturing Ltd

Born in Wellington, New Zealand

1975 – New Zealand motorcycle endurance race champion

1978 – Completed tertiary education – NZCD (Arch) from Wellington Polytechnic

1985 – Started rallying

1988 – Central Regional rally champion

1994 – Flew F2 rally car over 75ft cliff; severe frontal impact

1995 / 1998 / 2000 – National class (F2) rally champion

1994 / 1995 / 2001 – Winner F2 class, Rally New Zealand round of WRC

1998 – Purchased Racetech

2002 – Met prominent people in world motorsport safety; passion for safety develops

2002 – Design and develop new concept seat for Dodge Viper competition coupe

2003 – Invited by FIA Institute to participate in development and crash test programme at Delphi, Ohio, USA.

2005 – Establish Racetech board of directors and introduce first outside investment in Racetech

2004-2009 – Development with FIA Institute of 8862-2009 advanced seat standard

2007 – Invited to present at newly formed AIMSS (Australian Institute of Motor Sport Safety) safety seminars

2010 – Invited to present at IMIS Safety Conference, Indianapolis on the development of carbon race seats

2012 – Establish clear plan for development and growth of Racetech

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