Devitt sponsor and British Superbike Superstock 600 racer Jordan Gilbert has had his fair share of cuts and bruises during his racing career. It’s no surprise that his race team HARIBO Starmix pull out all the stops to make sure their riders are well and truly kitted out. Have a read of Jordan’s blog to find out the importance of safety gear.
“Team HARIBO Starmix does not cut corners when it comes to safety. In my last blog about all of my motorcycling equipment, every piece of equipment is the best it can be. And that’s brilliant from my point of view. This gives me extra confidence. I feel safe in the equipment I am wearing. The team never compromises on safety – they always want to get the best safety equipment that money can buy for their riders.
A new piece of equipment that we have been using is the LEATT neck brace. It’s a carbon fibre collar that I fasten down over my shoulders on top of my racing- leathers. The main purpose is to help prevent neck injury , and reduce the chance of breaking a collarbone. Collarbone breakage is often caused by the base of the rider’s helmet hitting the collarbone eg. as the falling rider hits the ground; the LEATT helps to spread the helmet’s impact on the collarbone, thereby reducing the risk of bone breakage.
At first my team mate and I both found that the neck brace moved a lot when we were riding. That meant that we couldn’t always see around to the next corner. That was potentially dangerous. So the team worked with LEATT to improve the fit. Without changing the integrity and the purpose of the design, we added extra Velcro fixings, and made a few light adjustments to the way it sat on our shoulders. At first the LEATT brace had felt quite strange to wear, and it sometimes blocked my distant view. It took the team at least 4 meetings to get it right – as we only ever experimented with the LEATT during Free Practice sessions. It now feels normal/comfortable to wear and it never gets in my way. It’s now providing extra safety protection for me without limiting my line-of-sight.
I believe this devicehelps to save and reduces the risk of hyperextension injuries to the neck. I have had many crashes while wearing this brace and it certainly has taken the knocks very well. The structure and safety of the neck brace has not decreased because of my many crashes. I’ve no doubt that it is durable. From the scuffs that now show on my LEATT it’s clear to me that it has helped prevent injuries. I now wouldn’t go out on track without my LEATT, and I’m sure it has helped protect me this season
Overall it’s a safety product that’s well worth considering. Some people might be initially scepticalbut with LEATT’s constant product improvements I have little doubt that this product will soon be mandatory in the racing paddock.