Essilor helps rally driver Jari-Matti Latvala keep his eyes on the road
Press release 28.3.2012
World-class rally driver Jari-Matti Latvala and Essilor Finland are cooperating closely on high-performance eyewear. Thanks to Essilor’s expertise in corrective lens and optics, Latvala’s new driving glasses may just give him the winning edge in the World Rally Championship.
“We provided Jari-Matti Latvala with four driving glasses that improve his vision in all conditions. We aimed to find the optimum solution by using as few as possible lenses. This was because changing eyeglasses in the middle of a race is not an option for rally drivers,” says optician Vesa Vaine, Country Manager at Essilor Finland.
The year-long partnership between Latvala and Essilor Finland resulted in four unique driving glasses with specialized Essilor lenses: bright (Orma Crizal Forte), yellow (Orma Kiros Crizal Forte), brown (Orma Extreme Crizal Forte) and the newest lens, Inuit Optifog Sun, for long lasting fog-free vision.
“From the starting grid, we’ve worked together closely to find the best possible solution. A rally driver has to have excellent eyesight because you never know what’s around the next hairpin turn. Driving conditions also vary immensely. In Rally Sweden, I used yellow lenses to navigate the snow-clogged stages, while brown lenses were up to the job in Mexico’s scorching sunlight,” says Jari-Matti Latvala.
White light is composed of all the frequency bands in the spectrum of visible light, from short-wave blue to long-wave red. An extremely effective way to improve your eyesight in demanding conditions is to filter out blue from visible light. This is based on two factors. First, blue light bends more than other light wave lengths, which means blue light focuses in the front the retina. This distorts the image. Second, when blue light encounters small air-borne particles like fog or powder snow, it scatters or changes direction more than other light wave lengths. As a result, you see contrasts less clearly. In theory, the benefits of filtering out blue light increase as a person ages. The older you are, the more blue light scatters inside your eye. This is because as you age, your body’s metabolism changes the vitreous humour or transparent jelly inside your eyes.
Yellow lenses are used to improve contrasts and accuracy in conditions that require no filtering out of light based on tinted lenses. This property is also exploited in sunglasses that filter out blue light with brown lenses. Polarized lenses are used to reduce glare from reflective surfaces.
“It is incredibly interesting to work with Jari-Matti. Even though we know our lenses inside-out in theory, we still have to test each lens in actual racing conditions. We are constantly learning new things and we plan to test one more lens type,” says Vesa Vaine.
“The new driving glasses and their holder can’t bring any extra weight to the car, because the rest of the team is trying to make the car as light as possible,” says Jari-Matti Latvala.
Latvala has used TAG Heuer’s Nightvision frames since 2009, and is extremely satisfied with them.
Jaana Vaine, a specialist optician who helps rally drivers improve their eyesight, checked Latvala’s vision. Jaana Vaine also works with Mikko Markkula, who is rally driver Juho Hänninen’s co-driver.
“Blue filtering and polarization can be effective in rally driving and other motorsports. But the driver ultimately decides if the eyeglasses provide that winning edge in demanding conditions. Right now, only a few race drivers use eyesight consultants. This may change in the coming years as the margin between winning and losing becomes smaller and smaller,” says Jaana Vaine.
“We also offer more personalized lenses to our non-rally driving customers. For instance, bifocal lenses are increasingly tailored to individual needs. A broader selection of lenses also means that the price of eyeglasses vary even more than in the past. If you are planning to buy eyeglasses, I recommend that you consider first how and where you are going to use your new eyeglasses. A competent optician can then help you to find the right lenses and frames,” says Vesa Vaine.
For more information:
Optician Vesa Vaine, Country Manager, Essilor Oy, tel. +358 50 380 5246, vainev@essilor.fi
Jari-Matti Latvala, race results and latest news: http://www.jmlatvala.com/
Essilor in short
Essilor is the world’s leading manufacturer of corrective lenses, with more than 48,700 employees in 100 countries. Essilor has had a presence in Scandinavia for more than 30 years. In Finland, Essilor employs 51 professionals who work in lens manufacturing, customer service and optical equipment. Essilor lenses are sold in more than 300 opticians around Finland.
Essilor Group has more than 200 lens manufacturing centres around the world.
Essilor’s best-known lens brands are Varilux®, Crizal®, Xperio® and OptifogTM.
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