Triple Australian Rally Champion Harry Bates
Triple Australian Rally Champion Harry Bates has become the newest global Ambassador for Shamir Driver Intelligence driving lenses.
One of the world’s leading high-end corrective lens developers, Shamir has confirmed its support for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia star as he pushes to claim a fourth ARC title this season.
Harry Bates, son of four-time ARC champion Neal, became the youngest-ever ARC champion when he won the title in 2019 at the age of 24. He has since claimed the 2023 title as well, and leads the 2024 Bosch Motorsport Australian Rally Championship.
Mr Bates, who began wearing Shamir Driver Intelligence lenses this season said, “I’ve already won rallies with them, so it’s the performance of the lenses that convinced me to become Driver Intelligence Ambassador”.
“If you love driving and wear corrective lenses, Driver Intelligence really is a cheat code for both speed and safety.
“I always wear corrective lenses whether I’m driving in competition or on the road, and I can see critical things more clearly, and I can switch my eyes to the next thing faster than before”.
Driver Intelligence
The arrival of Bates as a Driver Intelligence Ambassador has been welcomed by Shamir Optical President, Yagen Moshe, who praised the 29-year-old Australian’s professionalism and talent.
“We are delighted to start officially working with Harry, and not just because he competes and wins wearing our corrective lenses,” said Mr Moshe.
“With his speed, work ethic and talent, we identified him more than a year ago as someone we wanted to work with, both in competition and away from it.
“He wanted to trial the Sun and Moon versions in competition before he committed to us and, so far, he has done a lot of winning with Driver Intelligence lenses.
“I can’t imagine a tougher test of a lens for drivers than a competition like this, with mud, dappled light and road conditions that are extremely difficult to read,” Mr Moshe added.
Shamir used around 20 million heavily researched data points to develop Driver Intelligence lenses, including data from more than 150 drivers in more than 100 cars, plus Alpine’s professional racers. However Mr Moshe said these lenses were not specifically designed for competition.
“Driver Intelligence lenses were developed to improve the driving performance and safety of their wearers and can be worn in competition, but they were not designed specifically with competition in mind.
Mr Bates joins a stable of Driver Intelligence Ambassadors that includes French IMSA and World Endurance Championship star Sébastien Bourdais, who used Driver Intelligence lenses to qualify third at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hour race.
