Knox Contour is a 'life saver' at the World's fastest road race

Whether you ride on road or track you need the best protection available, but when racing on the roads the stakes are really high. Dave Hewson was competing in the Superstock class (1000cc superbikes on road tyres) at the Ulster GP, which is the fastest road race in the World. He was wearing a Knox Contour when he fell off at the superstock race. While he sustained injury he is now well on the way to a full recovery and Dave is in no doubt that his Knox Contour saved his life;

"As the A+E nurse said, and I fully agree 'if it wasn't for your back protector you'd probably be dead.' With that in mind I'd like to thank you for making such brilliant products and I'll be buying another knox contour before I get back on my bike. Thank you."

Everyone at Knox wishes Dave a speedy recovery.

Ellison returns to winning ways at Silverstone

Knox Handroid protected James Ellison returned to the top step of the podium at Silverstone in the penultimate round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, taking a commanding victory in the second race.

Ellison had just missed out on a podium finish in race one with a strong fourth place, but in the wet conditions in the second outing he led from the start of the race to edge out an impressive 5.8 second lead over second placed Ryuichi Kiyonari.

Ellison said: "I can't express the emotions I was feeling, not only in the final laps but also now as it feels like it has been a long time coming. The first race we were losing a bit of grip and we were going to make some changes, but then it rained and we knew we were confident with out wet setting. I went out in race two and just got my groove on and knew from my pit board I had a gap over Kiyo, but I have been so unlucky this season that I was waiting for something like a plane to fall out of the sky and hit me! I knew in the last laps I just needed to hold it together and I got a bit excited on the last lap and nearly threw myself off, but fortunately I saved it and it was such a rush of feelings for me when I crossed the line. I need to thank everybody who has supported me this season and also send special thanks to my crew chief Mick Shanley as he missed the race today as his wife is about to have a baby. I now just want to get to Oulton Park!"
Swan Honda team manager Shaun Muir concluded: "I can't express how happy the whole of the Swan Honda team are feeling at the end of that second race. James put in a faultless performance and he really deserved that win after what has been a tough season with his injury. It feels like it has been a long time coming for him, but he got his head down and got on with the job and showed that had it not been for the crash at Thruxton he would have been a serious title contender. "

Head start with Cold Killers this winter

The face, head and chest are more sensitive to changes in temperature than the rest of the body*, and as any motorcyclist and scooter rider will know, keeping those areas properly insulated and protected from the cold and damp can be difficult.

Part of the Softshell mid-layer collection, Cold Killers' Hot Hood, Maxi Tube and Mini Tube are specifically designed to help keep the face, head, neck and chest area warm and dry, during even the most miserable winter weather conditions. Like the complete Cold Killers range, the Hot Hood, Maxi Tube and Mini Tube all feature Softshell fabric construction: a three-ply laminate, with a tough and tightly woven stretch fabric on the outside, a laminated membrane, and 3-D fleece liner.

This three-layer system acts as a barrier against the wind - helping to reduce the effects of wind chill - and allows warm air to circulate round the skin, reducing the overheat/chill-down cycle associated with conventional layering. It's also water repellent and breathable, so prevents rain getting in while letting perspiration out.

Thin and flexible, Cold Killers eliminates the need for extra layering, allowing freedom of movement and ensuring there are no ‘tight spots' to restrict circulation. In addition, flat seams and stretch panels are used throughout for a comfortable fit.

Softshell is also fully machine washable, to ensure season-long protection and comfort. The Cold Killers Hot Hood and Mini Tube are available at an RRP of £16.99 each; the Maxi Tube - which features an extended chest area - costs £19.99. All are available in a ‘one size' universal fitting for men and women. For detailed information on each product and the entire range of Cold Killers Softshell garments, call 01900 825825, or visit www.coldkillers.co.uk

Ends

Editor's notes: *Source: Don't Swallow Your Gum: And Other Medical Myths Debunked: Dr Aaron Carroll Dr Rachel Vreeman. Penguin, 5 Nov 2009. ISBN: 978-0141043364.

Knox Armour Czechs out

Petr Mühlhans wins overall ranking of Czech 4X Cup!

An awesome end to the season waited for Knox-Armour protected Petr in Pec pod Snezkou. By third place in the final round, he managed to jump on the top of the overall podium and became a part of history in this world's prestigious series. Find photo, video and interesting links directly in Petr's blog. A big bonus is a Wobenzym video spot, that was shot during the season as a TV commercial for Czech Public TV, where it is on air these days.

Lougher makes it 129 wins at Scarborough

Knox-Armour protected Ian Lougher returned to the race track with some intent as he extended his tally of wins at Oliver's Mount to 129, with three more successes in the 60th Steve Henshaw International Gold Cup meeting at the Scarborough circuit.

The Blackhorse Kawasaki team boss was in superb form throughout the weekend, also recording three second place finishes, a third, a fourth and a seventh, completing every race he started in his first outing since the Ulster Grand Prix in August.

His wins came in both 125cc races for the Stu Reed Trophy and in the second heat of the 600cc David Jefferies Cup.

Saturday dawned with blue skies albeit with a typically autumnal chill in the air. With practice and qualifying over, the first of the day's 11 races got underway at the scheduled time of 1.00pm. Races one and two were the opening heats of the Darran Lindsay Trophy for Superbikes, both over four laps. Ian was in the second heat, opting to use his Superstock Ninja ZX-10R for the 'big bike' classes. And at the conclusion of his first outing of the day he finished fourth behind third placed John McGuinness.

Ian was soon out again for the first leg of the 125cc Stu Reed Trophy race. Fans around the circuit were eagerly awaiting the sight of Ian on the Repli-Cast UK Racing 125GP machine of Nigel Percy. Ian last rode the bike in 2009 with a wildcard entry at Silverstone where his technical input was invaluable to the team at that time. At the end of the first lap it was Ryan Farquhar on a KXF450 by half a second from William Dunlop with Ian coming through from fourth to move into third. Farquhar had increased the lead to three-quarters of a second a lap later, as the positions remained the same, with Chris Palmer fourth. But at the halfway stage Ian, who had only just stepped on to the bike for practice earlier in the day, had now moved ominously into second and had reduced the gap dramatically between himself and Farquhar to 0.343 of a second. Lougher took the lead at Drury’s and now led by 0.361 seconds as they went into the penultimate lap. Ian held on brilliantly to take the win at the flag from Farquhar by 0.25 seconds with William Dunlop third.

Ian was then straight into action on the Ninja ZX-10R in the first leg of the Darran Lindsay Trophy races. At the end of the opening lap of eight it was Ryan Farquhar from Guy Martin, John McGuinness, Michael Pearson, and Ian Hutchinson, with Loughercompleting the top six. Michael Dunlop went out on lap three with machine trouble as positions remained the same. Farquhar still led at the three-quarter race mark with Ian Hutchinson now third ahead of Pearson. At the chequered flag Lougher brought the Ninja ZX-10R home in a safe seventh just behind Derek Shiels.

Ian then had time to catch his breath before coming to the line for the second heat of the David Jefferies 600cc Cup over four laps. In this one he had a trouble free run as he coasted to first place, just over five seconds ahead of Michal Dokoupil.

After the heats of the David Jefferies Cup came the first 8-lap leg, the penultimate race of Saturday's programme. Ian Hutchinson was in pole position and held the hole-shot into Mere Hairpin and up Sheene’s Rise. Two miles later it was still Hutchy in the lead by 1.38 seconds from Guy Martin with Ian third, then Dokoupil and Michael Dunlop with Stephen Oates in sixth. Lap two and the lead was up to 2.42 seconds as Hutchinson broke the lap record at 81.96mph with positions the same.
On to the fifth lap of eight and the lead had extended to 4.56 seconds with Michael Dunlop now fourth, Ian meanwhile was safe in third on the ZX-6R and at the chequered flag he maintained his position to finish a fine third and bring his first day's racing to a satisfactory close.

Unfortunately Sunday's weather wasn't so kind with rain persisting on and off for most of the day. Ian's first event of the second day was the second leg of the Darran Lindsay Trophy. In Saturday's first leg Ian finished seventh behind Farquhar, Martin, Hutchinson, Pearson, McGuinness and Shiels, however this time around he addressed the balance on all but Farquhar who again took the win with Ian a fine second, almost 2.5 seconds ahead of Ian Hutchinson. Guy Martin was a retirement on the third lap.

Next up for Ian was a run on the ZX-6R as he took part in the second leg of the David Jefferies Cup. Winner of the first leg was Ian Hutchinson by some 7.7 seconds from Guy Martin. This time though Hutchy was pushed all the way by Lougher who was just over a second behind at the finish. The two were well clear of third place man Guy Martin who was a further 10 seconds back.

As the riders came to the line for the feature Gold Cup race, the programme was running behind schedule due to the weather conditions. Thus the organisers decided to reduce the race by two laps to eight. As in the David Jefferies Cup race a little earlier, it was again Hutchinson who set the pace with Lougher the only one able to forge a challenge. Despite Ian's best efforts, Hutchinson again took the honours with Ian a brilliant second on the Superstock Ninja ZX-10R, the first Kawasaki rider home and with a fastest lap of the race at 77.01mph to reward his efforts. Third was Ryan Farquhar, another twelve seconds in arrears with Michael Dunlop fourth.

Ian was straight back on track again as he jumped from the big bike on to the smaller Repli-Cast UK Racing 125GP machine for the second leg of the Stu Reed Trophy. Having won the previous day's first leg, could Lougher do it again? The result was never in doubt as Ian took victory by 13.5 seconds from the KXF450 of Ryan Farquhar who in turn was well clear of Chris Palmer in third. Again the fastest lap went to Ian at 69.86mph.

So a successful Gold Cup meeting for Ian Lougher for whom the Oliver's Mount success story continues, can he make it 130 wins next year? It would take a brave person to bet against it!

It's a return to the British Superbike Championship scene next weekend for Blackhorse Kawasaki when Victor Cox and David Pearce will once again be in the team colours for the latest round of the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 and Junior 600 Championships at Silverstone.

Photo: courtesy Simon Charity

www.blackhorsekawasaki.com

Great results for Team FiveTwo in final round

Knox Armour protected Team FiveTwo's Suzy Lacey arrived at the final round of the National 4x series at Chicksands in Bedford facing huge tension and pressure, as she could take home the series champion's title if she beat just one other rider - Nichola Anderson (a multiple national bmx champion winner).

Team boss John Lee was excited by the prospect; "The newly refurbished and designed track was fantastic, now with some really challenging berms and driffty corners offering a selection of crazy lines and ruts added to the chicksands speed trap track - it meant there was some crazy racing and crashes about to go down! The team battled hard and achieved some amazing results over the day!"

Kieran Brown in the Juvenile category qualified for his first ever B final and came 7th in the final round.

Claire Pollard in the female category also came back to ride like her old self and put in a great day's racing to finish off 6th - a great comeback after her crash at Cannock a few months ago.

John Lee in the senior category had a rough old day of racing, which was full of crashes and a DQ from one of his motos - and after some difficult racing in his category he just missed out of the semi final round's qualification by 1 point.

Suzy Lacey in the female category really had her race face on and wasn't even bothered about the pressure piled up on her. In every moto race she gave 100% effort and came out with all cylinders firing and was seriously impressive to watch. In the A final race she already knew that the overall title was in the bag, as Nicola Anderson had already raced and couldn't win the series with the points she had won that day, so Suzy decided to aim for a final podium result and she threw herself into the final race of the series with a winning attitude and she was rewarded with a 3rd place.

Suzy was chuffed to take the win; "This is all I wanted this season, to be crowned. This result means I have been the most consistent racer in the 2010 4x series, massive thanks to the team and my sponsors for the support in 2010, bring on next year!"

Knox lend Kirkham a Handroid to become Superstock Champion

Jon Kirkham wrapped up the Metzeler National Superstock 1000 championship at the Croft circuit, but without Knox it could all have been very different.

On practice day Jon took the opportunity to try out a Knox Aegis back protector and Handroid gloves. Fate must have been on his side, because he then took an uncharacteristic spill aboard his newly Samsung-sponsored JK Racing BMW S1000RR. Fortunately the Knox Scaphoid Protection System on the Handroids proved its worth once again, preventing a potentially season-ending wrist injury.

With a comfortable lead in the series, he could have coasted to an overall victory in the final three races. However Jon was able to top both timed qualifying sessions, dipping well under the Superstock 1000 lap record in the second dry session of Saturday afternoon.

In the race Jon inherited a clear track following early leader Scott Smart's retirement, leaving fellow BMW rider Tristan Palmer in second. Despite setting the fastest lap of the race, Palmer never really troubled Kirkham, who put in consistent lap times from start to finish.

“What a weekend, I’m buzzing!" said Kirkham afterwards. "It was a weird one in a way because I had my first crash of the year on Friday and decided to take it easy on Saturday. But I ended up fastest in both sessions and on pole. It was a similar thing in the race really, I decided to just take it easy and let the race unfold and it came to me".

Classic protection from Knox

In the rough and tumble world of classic motocross, sometimes Tim Britton - the editor of Classic Dirt Bike - takes a tumble in the rough. Luckily the delicate extremities of the 50-year old are well protected with Knox elbow, knee and back protectors.

"Without them the second corner tumble at Nostalgia would have been much
more painful" says Tim. "Do you wear Knox protection?" he asks.

Teenage fan club

We received the following email from Denise, mother of 17-year old motorcyclist Thomas, who survived a spectacular accident thanks to Knox armour.

"My 17 year old son as just been in a serious bike accident. Somehow he managed to ride up the ramp of a workman's trailer , travel over the trailer and cab in the air and land on his back in the road. He was in 2nd gear travelling between 20 and 25 miles per hour. You can see 2 people behind the ambulance - that's where Tom landed!

Thanks to the superior quality of your clothing Tom has sustained nothing more than serious bruising. He will be very sore and uncomfortable for a fair few months but thanks to the protective clothing he is safe and well and has astounded the hospital staff by not having any broken bones. He landed on his back after travelling 15-20 feet in the air and was saved, I have no doubt, by your clothing so thank you from the bottom of my heart.

My son was more concerned and none too impressed by the fact that the ambulance staff had too cut his protective (3 week old) clothing off- I am sure later he will realise how lucky he was to have had the correct gear on!!!

Thank you again from a very very grateful parent - who will soon be shopping for new clothing!

Thank you so much.

Denise - parent to a very lucky Thomas"

Advertising watchdog investigates air vest complaint

Amidst growing concern surrounding claims made about the protective qualities of air vests (none of which meet the current impact protection standards for body protectors for horse riding or motorcycling) a UK trade organisation has now madean official complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority. BETA, which is accepted as the official representative body for the equestrian manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade. has issued the following statement;

"The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is investigating a complaint in relation to an advertisement placed by Point Two [air vest manufacturer] in Your Horse magazine. The advertisement, which appeared in the September publication, made representations about the effectiveness of the company’s inflatable vest products in preventing or reducing injury and drew comparisons to level three body protectors.

BETA, the body that developed and administers the BETA Body Protector Standard, has filed a complaint with the ASA in relation to the extent of the claims made by Point Two within its advertisement with reference to body protectors. BETA has received an acknowledgment confirming that the ASA is investigating the complaint about the claims of the effectiveness of the air vest products and the potential to cause confusion.

BETA has received a number of enquiries from its Members about the similarities and differences between body protectors and air vests. As a trade association with a responsibility to its Retail and Trade Members, as well as consumers, BETA has issued the following résumé of advice pending the ASA’s findings:-

Body protectors (that meet the EN13158/BETA 2000/2009 Standard) and air vests are distinct items of equipment with different functions, making direct comparisons difficult. Namely:

• Up-to-standard, foam-filled body protectors offer constant protection to wearers, whether they are on or off a horse.

• Air vests offer protection to riders only in the event of a fall from a horse and only upon inflation.

• BETA Standard body protectors were developed specifically for equestrian sport and encompass three levels of protection for different types of riding and handling horses. Level 3 offers the highest degree of protection. Air vests were originally developed for use in the motor cycle industry.

• The BETA Body Protector Standard has been in existence, with revisions, for 18 years. In order to meet this requisite standard, body protectors must pass a range of rigorous tests to comply with a universally accepted European standard (EN13158). BETA approved garments are additionally required to undergo annual testing.

• Air vests are not subject to a standardised testing protocol and therefore do not comply with European standard EN13158. However, BETA has endorsed the furtherance of work towards developing one and has scheduled a meeting to advance this.

• It is requirement under British Eventing (BE) rules that air vests must be used in conjunction with a body protector (e.g. an air vest should not be not be used to the exclusion of a body protector), with BETA Level 3 being strongly recommended. Unaffiliated disciplines tends to follow BE guidelines.

BETA Member Retailers requiring further guidance or help with answering customers’ questions should call the BETA office".

Kanteq equestrian body protectors, which use Knox technology, meet all current BETA and European standards.