Speedway star on track with Knox

Speedway star Kevin Doolan is the latest sproting star to sign up for Knox.

Riding for Kings Lynn Stars in the premier league in England, and also for Vargarna ('wolves') in the Swedish elite league, Kevin is positive both about his season to date and his Knox armour.

"Things are going well with both teams and I have been scoring some big points,"says Kevin. "The bodyamour has been great and is holding up well to all the abuse."

Podium Delight for Oxford Tag Triumph

While England football fans watched in dismay on Sunday afternoon, another English team were celebrating their first British Supersport Cup podium result of 2010.

And it was a young English rider, on an English motorcycle, that really gave the fans something to cheer about. All season long 16-year-old Shaun Winfield has been showing glimpses of his potential as he’s got to grips with the Triumph Daytona 675 but it was at his home circuit of Mallory Park where he really shone and proved that he has the pace to run with his more experienced rivals.

In an incident-packed race, Knox-protected Shaun kept his cool despite the scorching weather, improving his lap times throughout the race and posting his fastest lap on lap 21 – when the tyres were way past their best – matching the pace of his senior team-mate, Jason O’Halloran who was forced to retire from the race with an electrical fault having held on to a strong 11th position at his first competitive visit to the Leicestershire circuit.

Team Oxford TAG Triumph will be back on track at Knockhill next weekend.

English lesson for bike stunts

It's not only professional motorcycle racers who rely on Knox for their work, so do many stunt men. Rick English has ridden bikes for film and TV productions including Mamma Mia, Spooks, Casualty, The Bill, Primeval and many more.

“For film and TV stunts it is quite important to choose armour carefully as the equipment chosen has to be able to take more than one impact” explains Rick. “Some motorcycle protection is designed to deform and therefore is good for just one accidental impact. On a movie, we may repeat the same stunt several times and the armour used has to be up to this!”

Rick has used Knox back protectors for several years and currently wears a Knox back protector or Cross Shirt for riding, alongside Cross Max Knee guards, as they give great knee and shin protection, which is especially useful as he tends to wear shorter boots for trick riding.

Stuntmen wear body armour for nearly every type of job; “My old Knox armour jacket has taken falls on Batman Begins and Casino Royale and never let me down”. Rick chooses Cross guard elbow pads for non-bike stunts because they give great protection but are quite low profile for use under costume. “Just last week I was relying on these to take the initial impact as I jumped through a 2nd floor toughened glass window!”

See more of Rick English, who is also performing bike stunts for the public these days, at www.rickenglish.co.uk

ELLISON RETURNS TO BSB WITH KNOX AT MALLORY PARK

Knox protected James Ellison returns to British Superbikes on the Swan Honda for round five of the MCE Insurance Championship at Mallory Park.

Ellison, who has been relying on Knox Handroid this season, has been out of action since sustaining a broken femur during practice at Thruxton and since then has been determined to return to fitness with extensive physiotherapy and sessions in a hyperbaric chamber. He is now able to be completely focused on the weekend ahead after being declared fit during last weekend’s British MotoGP round by BSB Chief Medical Officer Dr Romer whilst she was officiating as the Chief Medical Officer at the event.

Ellison said: “I am happy that this weekend I will back in the Swan Honda garage and ready to race after what feels like an eternity since Thruxton and I need to thank everyone who has supported me over the past weeks. I was fortunate that I could take my fitness test at the MotoGP round so now I can go to Mallory Park with my mind fully on racing. I have completely put my injury behind me now and although I am not completely back to full fitness I am approaching this weekend as I have any other earlier this season. I am not going out on circuit just to try and salvage points, I need to go out there and be pushing for wins or at least the podium. I am going to be giving it one hundred percent this weekend and I still believe that the top six is completely achievable with five rounds and eleven races before the cut off point for the Showdown.”

For more information visit http://www.swanhonda.co.uk/

Knox Handroid proves handy in Moto2

The Knox Hand Armour range was the product of choice for Moto 2 racer Xavier Simeon with the Handroid gloves. Xavier finished 8th in Sunday's race at Silverstone.

Riding for Holiday Gym Morawaki, the FIM Superstock champion rode a superb race, which saw several falls, collisions and off-track excusions from other riders, coming home in a highly creditable 8th place to score his first championship points of the season.

Xavier will be ontrack again ion Moto2 at Assen in Holland.

The picture shows Simeon (left) wearing the Handroid and Knox MD Geoff Travell.

FiveTwo Race Team feature in online race video

ELLISON RETURNS TO THE TRACK AT MALLORY PARK TEST

Swan Honda’s James Ellison returned to the track at Mallory Park yesterday (Thursday) just seven weeks after sustaining a broken femur in a practice crash at Thruxton earlier this season.

Ellison completed around 50 laps of the circuit during the test and used the track time to personally test his fitness and he now feels confident that he will be in a position to return to the championship for the next round at the Leicestershire circuit in two weeks’ time.

Ellison said: “I wasn’t sure what to expect before I got back on the Swan Honda so I arrived at Mallory Park with no expectations. I was happy though that I was able to complete around 50 to 60 laps of the circuit. I haven’t obviously been chasing lap times as the focus was just to get me back out on the track, but although I am not completely back to full fitness I feel good and really want to be back out on the grid at Mallory Park to try and get my championship back on track.”

Swan Honda team manager Shaun Muir concluded: “The focus of the test was to re-acclimatise James with the feel of the bike and work the body in places where you cannot reach in the gym. Conditions were not ideal, but he worked his way into the test and he has come away with a huge boost of confidence ahead of the next round. We will discuss the situation with the BSB medical team and hopefully satisfy them that James’ is fit enough to race in two weeks time.”

For more information visit www.swanhonda.co.uk

New lap record and two top six finishes for Amor at TT

Knox protected Keith Amor enjoyed a strong day of racing on the Isle of Man when he set a new lap record and finished 4th in the Supersport race on the Kojak Racing Honda, despite hitting his left shoulder on the railings at Braddan Bridge on the opening lap. To round out a good day on the Island, he also finished sixth on the WA Corless/Jackson Racing BMW in the Superstock race, recording a hugely impressive 189mph through the speed trap.

Conditions around the Mountain Course were perfect for some high speed racing and the day got off to a record breaking start in the 4-lap Supersport race although it was almost over before it had begun for Keith due to the aforementioned collision with the railings. As a result he found himself down in seventh place at the end of the opening lap but, despite an extremely painful shoulder, he increased his speed on lap two to 124.608mph to close in on the riders in front of him. A good pit stop saw him make up even further time and by the end of lap 3 he was up to fifth. Now firmly in his stride, Keith and the Honda were really flying on the final lap and with a new lap record of 126.909mph he was able to claim fourth at the chequered flag.

There was little rest for Keith and, after a quick trip to the medical centre to get his shoulder checked over, he was back out in the 4-lap Superstock race. An opening lap of 128.179mph saw Keith slot in to fifth place, with the times incredibly close between the top ten riders and with a near identical lap time second time around, 128.194mph, he was able to maintain his position. On the third lap, Keith and the BMW were pushed back to sixth by Guy Martin and although he lapped quicker than his Honda rival on the final lap, he missed out on fifth by just 0.21s after over 150 miles of racing!

Pictures by Mark 'Wally Walters

Handroid debut in Moto2 at Mugello

Xavier Simeon is the first rider to race wearing Knox Handroid in motorcycle prand prix, competing in the Gran Premio d'Italia TIM at Mugello. Riding the Holiday Gym Racing Moriwaki the young Belgian finished a creditable 19th in a closely fought race that saw five riders crash out and a similar number retiring.

Xavier will also race the Silverstone and Assen Moto 2 rounds.

Follow his progress at www.motogp.com

New look Knox Dry Inside base layer

Knox has given its Dry Inside base layer a fresh new look for 2010. Designed to keep the wearer dry and comfortable throughout the seasons, this technical collection of base layers combines the natural comfort of cotton with the wicking properties of synthetic fabrics.

Made from 95% cotton (and 5% lycra for a comfortable fit), Dry Inside is unlike normal cotton base layers because it wicks moisture away, leaving the wearer feeling dry and fresh. It achieves this because the material is treated with 3XDry® from Schoeller - The Feelgood Technology.

So the uncomfortable stickiness of a normal T-shirt or pants on the skin is diminished and unattractive perspiration marks are practically invisible from the outside. Added to this, the natural cooling-effect makes the wearer feel really good and energised.

Ideal for motorcycling, mountain biking, hiking, horse riding and most outdoor sports, Knox Dry Inside is easy to care for as it is machine washable. To refresh its 3XDry® properties simply turn inside out and iron.

The range includes long and short sleeve tops (at £29.99 and £27.99) and matching long and short pants (selling for £24.99 and £19.99) respectively, all in sizes XS – XXL.
Call 01900 825825 or visit www.dryinside.co.uk

What is 3XDry®?

1. Dry on the inside: moisture resulting from perspiration is quickly absorbed from the inner side of the textile with 3XDRY® treatment and distributed over a large surface area, before and escaping to the outside. This stimulates a cooling effect.

2. Dry on the outside: the 3XDRY® treatment reliably repels moisture, reducing the effect of dirt and stains. As only the inside of the textile absorbs moisture, perspiration marks are practically invisible from the outside.

3. Dry in a flash: the distribution of the moisture over a large surface area ensures rapid evaporation. Therefore, textiles with 3XDRY® dry noticeably faster.