Everyone in the paddock knows him: red glasses, distinctive shoes, and long hair combed back—Benny Wilbers is a legend. Charismatic, empathetic, innovative, and entrepreneurial. Today, May 21, 2022, the former race car driver and current head of Wilbers Products GmbH and his own IDM team turns 70.
Benny Wilbers is Germany’s leading developer and manufacturer of motorcycle suspensions, based in Nordhorn, Lower Saxony, on the border with his home country, the Netherlands. What began in 1979 as a motorcycle and motorcycle parts store has grown into an influential and successful company. Early on, Wilbers recognized a gap in the market: for the increasingly common motorcycle models with a central shock absorber—as opposed to those with conventional dual-sided swingarms—there were no alternatives to the factory-installed suspension systems. The suspension components installed by manufacturers wore out more quickly. That’s exactly where Wilbers stepped in.
In 1999, Wilbers offered approximately 2,500 different shock absorber models for 600 different motorcycle models, which were also exported abroad. The company also developed its own ESA shock absorber system, which can be electronically adjusted while riding. One of its latest innovations is a fully automatic, hydropneumatic ride-height control system.
Wilbers could never stay away from racing. He revived the BMW Boxer Cup, and since 2010, this thoroughbred racer has been running his own Wilbers-BMW Racing Team in the IDM; he is also a sponsoring industry partner of the championship. Team riders in the Superbike class have included Philipp Hafeneger, Gareth Jones, Lucy Glöckner, Stefan Nebel, Matej Smrz, Bastien Mackels, Matěj Smrž, and Florian Alt. The latter is expected to bring the IDM title in the premier class to the team.
70 is just a number—you wouldn't know it by looking at him. He hasn't slowed down a bit. Happy birthday, Benny Wilbers!