Warm in Winter and great all year round..

The Held Hakuna Jacket has served me well over the last 3 years- standing around on a chilly bonfire night, riding in the rain, riding in the cold, riding in the warm. It has proven to be a real all-rounder. Good value too with an RRP under £300.

Held Hakuna - a great all-round motorcycle jacket

Take on the world with confidence in this cutting edge touring jacket. It's mega warm when it's cold - but this jacket also has AIR-VENT zippers in the front, back and arms, zip off side panels, and a concealed AIR-VENT channel underneath the front zip for extra cooling when the going gets hot! With dupont CORDURA outer shell, COOLMAX mesh lining, and HUMAX Z-Liner membrane it is the ultimate in comfort for the long way round, down or up! It also packs a punch with KNOX CE armour at the shoulders and elbows, TEMPERFOAM at the back, upgradeable to CE armour. If you are after style, comfort and protection in a jacket that can take on continents and win, this is THE jacket for you!

Specifications:

• DUPONT Cordura shell (100% Polyester)
• COOLMAX mesh lining
• HUMAX-Z-Liner membrane
• KNOX CE armour at shoulders & elbows
• TEMPERFOAM at back, upgradeable to CE armour
• 4 outside pockets
• 2 inside pockets
• Back pocket
• Zip-off side panels
• Double arm adjustment
• Waist adjustment
• Waist belt
• Stretch panels at shoulder
• Soft collar
• Air-vent channel underneath front zip
• Connector zip
• SCOTCHLITE reflective panels

Note: Jacket is only waterproof while the HUMAX climate lining is zipped in - With no lining attached, the jacket maximises air-flow and remains shower resistant.

For more information on Held in the UK please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Cold Champ Gloves- keeping you warm!

Now there's a definite nip in the air we'll be featuring our gear over the next couple of weeks that will help keep you warm and prolong your motorcycling season. 

Today we'll take a look at the Held Cold Champ winter motorcycle gloves.

The Held 'Cold Champ' superb warm winter motorcycle gloves

Winter gloves can easily mean 'bulky gloves' without much feel for the road or control. Co-developed between HELD and Gore, the combination of highly effective thermal linings and a specialist laminate layering means these motorcycle winter gloves are the closest you can get to having your cake and eating it. Excellent warmth, very clever technology, great grip and road feel, and waterproof for the life of the gloves!

Great grip, great protection, warm and dry! Gore-Tex & Held together.

User review, Simon Weir from RiDE Magazine: These are three-season gloves and they're great. Comfy, warm, properly dry thanks to their Gore-Tex membrane and with hard knuckle armour and both wrist and cuff fasteners/ adjusters.

Until the short-lived May Bank Holiday heatwave, these had become my default gloves because, as well as being comfy and protective, they're not bulky and give great feel for the controls.

Some of the spec:

Goat's leather - superior abrasion resistance, better 'feel'
Taslan textile fabric panels
Gore-Tex X-trafit waterproof & breathable membrane
Wrist & cuff Velcro closure
Superfabric protection panels
Stretch panels for fit
3M Thinsulate lining for warmth
Thermoplush fleece lining on upper hand for wind chill protection
3M Scotchlite reflex panels

Check out the Gore-Tex information here:

To view these gloves check out our online catalogue (page 208) here:

50p spring scuppers Held wearing racer Joe Burns

 A great start ends with first DNF of 2013. 

The team arrived in Silverstone in typical Autumn weather, cool and showers, the track remained damp in places so Joe decided to sit out free practice as there was nothing to learn, the forecast for qualifying was for dry conditions. 

Joe Burns

Qualifying 1 saw Joe achieve 6th fastest time, generally he was happy with the bike, but felt he could improve with a couple of set up adjustments. With set-up changes applied Joe took Qualifying 2 by storm and achieved a 1.7 second improvement compared to the first run, placing him second fastest. 

The combined qualifying times gave him a 3rd place start, front row of the grid, Joe said afterwards that ‘I am very pleased with the result and I'm feeling good about the race’.
Race day was dry and warm, ideal racing conditions, Joe lined up on the grid and made an excellent start to get into second place behind Filip Bacland before they entered Copse Corner. This pair then pulled a clear gap to third place and by the end of lap 2 Joe was lining up to take the lead. 

Towards the end of lap 3 Joe heard the bike engine note change dramatically and the bike lose power, he realised there was a problem and pulled into the pits fearing the worst, in the event it was a simple £0.50 spring that had failed, causing the exhaust to operate incorrectly. 

Joe and the team were extremely disappointed, Joe said ‘this is the first time we have had a failure of this spring, it is just incredible that a £0.50 component has let me down, I was ready to make my move on Filip and was feeling really comfortable, I feel I have lost a certain podium and probably a win today, it won’t happen again’.

For more about Held including a UK stockist list please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Made to measure gloves from Held

Always fancied a pair of Made to Measure summer / race gloves? Made personally for your hands? With a choice of colours? And your name embroidered on the side?

Well now we can do that for you!

Check out racer Scott Smart's:

Held wearing racer Scott Smart's personalised gloves

Or racer Gary Mason's:

Racer Gary Mason's personalised Held gloves

How much?

The Made to Measures are available in the Held Titan and the Held Phantom Glove. The service is charged at the price of the glove + 30% (max), meaning you could have a pair of Made to Measure Phantom IIs, with your name on the side, and a choice of colours for under £60 extra!!

How do I go about it?

We can liaise with a Held Dealer to sort it out for you, and it's a real simple process to get a Bespoke, one-off pair of gloves:

* Contact us at social@held-uk.co.uk  including your name and phone number,  and we'll help you through the process.

Then it'll be:

* Choose your gloves: Titan (RRP £229.99) or Phantom II (RRP £184.99) 

* Choose your colour scheme (Yellow, green, red, black, blue, grey, white... etc!)  

* Choose your lettering / numbers (Bear in mind the space available on the glove- 10 characters max - so if your name is Sokratis Papastathopoulos you'll have to abbreviate!) 

* Draw neatly round your hand on a sheet of A4 (like you did when you were a nipper) to just below the wrist joint

Re-live a childhood moment- the hand drawing!

Just what we need!

* Photo-copy your palm and the back of your hand (tip: put a tea-towel over your hand so as not to allow the light in as the copier lid won't close properly on your hand!)

Photocopier!

How long does it take?

Around 6 weeks from the day we receive your information and measurements!

So why not treat yourself! Drop us a line at social@held-uk.co.uk

For more information on Held in the UK please visit www.held-uk.co.uk
 

Held wearer Tom Weeden Oliver’s Mount Gold Cup

Held wearer Tom Weeden signed off his debut road racing season in fine form at the Oliver’s Mount Gold Cup road races last weekend. The 19 year old was certainly in good company with most of the big TT names attending; Tom was up against the likes of John Mcguinness, Michael and William Dunlop, Guy Martin and Bruce Anstey to name a few. Tom entered the 3 races and was certainly kept busy jumping between 2 bikes all weekend. 

Weeden: Overtook Michael Dunlop in style

 He was entered in the Supertwin races on the Trickbits FBM Performance Suzuki SV650 and also in both the David Jeffries 600cc class and the Darren Lindsay Trophy on his own Triumph 675. Tom was racing against 1000cc bikes in the Darren Lindsay Trophy but was confident that if it was wet, as the forecast said it would be, then he was in with a good chance of a decent result.

Practice went well on both bikes. In the initial practice sessions Tom went 6th fastest on his Triumph and 3rd fastest on the SV650, this was certainly a confidence boost going into qualifying and into the races. Weeden went 11th fastest in the 600 qualifying session and 13th fastest in the Supertwin session but was confident that if he got off the line well he good push for a decent result from there. 

Tom made a good start in the 1st of the Supertwin races and soon started to make up places. He crossed the line in 8th position at the end of lap 1 and momentarily dropped back to 9th before reclaiming the place back. Tom put some consistent laps together before putting his fastest lap of the race in on the last lap to cross the line in 8th behind Chris Palmer. 

Next up was the Darren Lindsay Trophy for bikes of 600cc and above. Weeden was starting at the back of the grid and so just decided to have fun and treat it as a bit of practice. He made a good start again, however on the first few laps his brakes were not working properly causing him to run wide at the hairpins. He still managed to pull the bike home in 17th place after 8 laps around the Olivers Mount road circuit but was adamant he should have finished higher if it wasn’t for the brake issue. 

In the David Jeffries Cup Tom finished 8th in both the Heat race and the first leg, but had sorted out the brake problem and was confident that he could produce a good finish in the second leg on Sunday. 

Tom only completed 1 of the two available practice sessions on Sunday morning in order to save the only set of wet tyres the team had for the races. He completed 2 laps on his Triumph and went 9th fastest and then posted the fastest time in the Supertwin session after pulling in after only 3 laps. This boosted Tom’s confidence and he knew that if it was wet for the races then he was in for a good chance of a decent result. 

After 1 lap of the 2nd leg of the Darren Lindsay Trophy the rain started to come down whilst all the riders were on dry tyres. Tom pulled in hoping to be allowed to change to wets and that the race would be restarted. The race was then halted before half distance which meant a full race restart would be made. A lot of the riders felt it was a passing shower and went for intermediate tyres or drys for the restart, Tom however decided to risk it and kept the wet tyres on hoping it would rain again otherwise he would chew up his only set of wets. From the very back on the grid Tom had nothing to lose and everything to gain and decided to go for it for the 3 lap restart. 

After 1 lap Tom had moved up into 10th. Then on the second lap the rain came down and Tom decided to gas it and make up as many places as possible. Weeden found himself in 5th going into the last lap and decided to just keep his head down and stay focused in the difficult conditions. 

On the last half of the lap he caught up with the TT stars on their 1000cc bikes and snapped up the opportunity to overtake such high profile names. Tom moved up into 2nd place, overtaking Michael Dunlop around the outside into one of the hairpins and was ecstatic as he crossed the line to take 2nd from very last on the grid. 

Tom was next out for the second leg of the David Jeffries 600 Cup. From 12th on the grid, Tom made good progress on the first lap and crossed the line in 9th position. On lap 3 Weeden moved into 8th position and set his sights on the next rider in front of him. On the fifth lap he moved into 7th place and put in some fast laps to gap the riders behind. Tom crossed the line in 7th and then was straight back out in the next race on his Supertwin bike. 

The last Supertwin race had to be restarted twice after two incidents occurred on the track. But once they got away Tom made a great start and slotted into 4th place on lap 1. The rider in front narrowly avoided highsiding in front of Tom and he had to quickly make avoiding action as he slotted up into 3rd place. He remained there for the remainder of the race to take another top 3 finish and end the season on a high. 

Tom left the Oliver’s Mount road circuit over the moon with the results he had achieved and he can’t wait to return next year.





For more information on Held in the UK please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Donington: Solid 4th Place for Held wearer Joe Burns

Solid 4th Place for Joe Burns 

Joe Burns at Donington- Jon Jessop Photography

Friday free practice and qualifying 1 turned out to be a complete washout, in free practice Joe used old wet tyres and achieved 24th fastest time, qualifying 1 was little better more rain, but with new wet tyres Joe cruised to 20th.  There being little point in taking risks, as the forecast for the weekend was for dry weather.

Saturday was indeed dry and sunny, and qualifying 2 was much more representative of Joe’s abilities, he was 3rd fastest in a very competitive 46 bike session, so the race would include a valuable front row start place. The top four riders were within 0.35 seconds of each other.

Warm up on race day and Joe put in the 2nd fastest time, showing once again that he is highly competitive in this race series.

In the race Hudson Kennaugh got the best start and into turn 1 Joe was dropped to 4th place but in a very tight group, for the next 8 laps he chased Victor Cox and at one point took third place, only to lose it at the next corner.

Joe’s front tyre began to lose grip and he came home in an excellent fourth place, just 4.6 seconds behind Coxa good intelligent ride that sees Joe rise to 8th in the championship.
Superstock now has a three week break until we race again at Silverstone.

 To see more about Joe Burns click here

To see more about Held Rider Equipment that Joe wears click here

Sean Neary: Ducati 848: Race Report – Round 6 – Donington Park

Here's the race report for Held-wearing Sean Neary's exploits at Donington:

Sean Neary - edging nearer the podium

 Firstly I need to thank all my sponsors for putting in further funding to allow us to complete the season. As ever I am humbled by the support but I now feel in a position where I can get the results to repay them.

After some strong results at Oulton Park myself and the Team were in a positive mood for Donington Park. In addition to that my bike had spent the weeks post Oulton Park at the JHP Ducati Coventry Workshop to resolve the power issues we were experiencing at Oulton Park. My engine was built by Jeff Green at GTEC Performance and there was no doubt that the engine was built to a fantastic standard. However that is only half the job and the bike has to be built correctly to ensure the engine can perform to its potential. Rick Hackett at JHP found a number of issues with the bike including a cracked exhaust manifold, blocked air tubes and a faulty power commander just to mention a few of the issues. With the assistance of JHP we gained another 10BHP which is an unbelievable gain in a one make series like the Ducati 848 Challenge. Massive thanks to Rick at JHP and also Jeff Green for building a bullet proof engine at the start of this season. It’s a little frustrating that we didn’t resolve the other issues earlier in the year as I’ve no doubt the season to date would have been very different had the bike been set up in this way. You live and learn as they say and it's safe to say I will never make a mechanic!

Held wearer Sean Neary- on it!

Practice on Friday at Donington was a complete washout so I went and did a few laps to ensure we had a good wet setup if needed. Qualifying on Saturday was interesting to say the least due to the mixed weather conditions. I opted for full wet tyres which in hindsight was a big error as the track was dry for the last 10 minutes of the session. I held 5th until the last 5 minutes when the teams on the dry tyres pushed me back to 12th which is as to be expected.

The bike was absolutely fantastic and credit to everyone involved as this is now a completely different bike to what I have been riding and I now spend my laps with a beaming smile as I still can’t believe the increase in performance!

Race 1

I would have been better off getting my Mum to perform the start which I did in race 1!!!! Absolute shocker which saw me 20th in turn 1. I fought back to 7th and had a great race long battle with Deane Brown and Daniel Fowler. I missed a gear on the final lap which put paid to my challenge for 6th place. Given the start and the work I had to do I was reasonably happy with the final result and still buzzing about the performance of the bike. I also set the 7th fastest lap of the race meaning a promotion on the grid for race 2.

Race 2

A much better start saw me 6th on lap one. I managed to get back past Ben Field on lap 2 and began to close in on the leading group. As I remember thinking we were in the hunt for some serious podium action I lost the front at the final turn on lap 2. Absolutely gutted does not do justice to the way I feel after that. These boys are the quickest in the country so I have to ride on the limit to be in with a chance. I don’t think my front tyre was quite up to temperature as they held us on the grid for a while but that said this was down to rider error, so I hold my hands up. I must say the Held Clothing kept me in great condition and I didn’t end up with a scratch. The Held Evo suit has had contact with the tarmac on more than 5 occasions over the last couple of years and they are still in 100% condition to protect me.

I was disappointed for the Team as for the first time this year that bike is capable of winning and I really can’t fault the effort of all involved. That’s racing as they say so we move on!

Assen is 2 weeks away and I can safely say I have never been so excited for a race in all my life! The bike is an absolute joy to ride and I am confident we can be challenging up front. Get me on that ferry now!

Thanks all

Sean #10

For more on Sean please visit his website

For more on Held, please visit ours!

Held wearer Joe Burns: Disappointment turns to joy at Silverstone 200.

This weekend Silverstone was the scene for the Moto GP Hertz British Grand Prix and one of the support races, the Silverstone 200, this is run as two 100Km races and allows entries from BSB, Superstock 1000 and Superstock 600.

Held wearer Joe Burns

The team arrived with a bike that was rebuilt following the Cadwell Park race meeting and Joe set to work in free practice and then qualifying, the result being 13th fastest and 11th fastest respectively. 

Race one on Saturday afternoon ended very quickly for Joe, after just two laps the clutch failed, the first mechanical DNF of 2013, there seemed to be no obvious cause for the problem so a new clutch was fitted and the bike prepared for race 2.

Grid positions for race 2 are set by the fastest time set by each rider in race 1, this left Joe with a starting position of 16th on the grid. With 5 laps to go he was 4 seconds behind Hudson Kennaugh who was holding 7th place.

Joe set out to close the gap and at 1 second per lap he was right behind Hudson as they crossed the line, an excellent 8th place being the reward, plus a lap time that was 2 seconds faster than he has previously achieved at this circuit.

The team left Silverstone happy with the result, looking forward with enthusiasm to next weekend at Donington Park and of course the race meeting on 6th October at Silverstone. 




For more information on Held motorcycle leathers, motorcycle boots and motorcycle gloves please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Tough Day for Held wearing Joe Burns at Cadwell

Following the Oulton Park round at which the team broke Park Ferme regulations, we were required to appear before the stewards to explain our reasons, the end result was a loss of 50 championship points and a suspended 6 month racing ban.

Joe Burns getting some air at Cadwell

 Not the best start to our weekend at Cadwell Park, however Joe put all the event behind him and was 3rd quickest in his free practice group, Saturday qualifying was neither wet nor dry, and as the forecast for Sunday was dry we elected not to run in qualifying 1. 

As forecast Qualifying 2 was run in bright dry conditions and if Pirelli had not supplied tyres that proved to be too hard Joe would have been in his usual top 5 position. Sadly this was not to be, he experienced handling problems that dropped him to 15th on the grid. 

The tyre problem affected several riders with the worst problem being a delamination of the tread on a rear tyre. 

Race day was sunny and dry, Joe rocketed off the grid gaining two places before the first corner, by the end of lap 2 he was up to 11th place, a position he held for most of the race. Cadwell Park is a difficult circuit on which to pass, and Joe found that where he was carrying a lot of speed into corners he was being blocked by riders in front of him who were on the racing line but slower. 

Sadly the red flag came out on lap 9 of the scheduled 15 laps, just as Joe had taken 10th place. 

Post-race we stripped our engine as requested by the scrutineers and as expected no irregularities were found, our bike has been fully compliant to the regulations for the whole of this season. 

Simon Andrews was subsequently disqualified for making an unfair manoeuvre that resulted in another rider crashing, this moves Joe into 10th place in the results, making him 9th overall in the championship standings.

For more information on Held, the motorcycle gear chosen by Joe Burns, please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Fantastically flattering ladies leather motorcycle jacket

Fabulous functional motorcycle leather jacklet with soft D3O armour! We've have managed to create this leather jacket that is sporty and rider oriented- The 'Katy'. The leather is soft but substantial. The cut is flattering. The expansion panels on the leather jacket make the outfit perfect in terms of comfort. Black & White also available. RRP is just £269.99.

Flattering and fucntional- The Held 'Katy' ladies leather motorcycle jacket

This jacket goes with the 'Eboney' trousers, pictured below, retailing at around £249.99.

'Eboney' - Ladies leather motorcycle trousers

Here's the specifications of the jacket:

Outer shell
• soft cowhide

Lining
• detachable sleeveless thermal liner
(100% polyester)
• breathable mesh inner lining (100% polyester)
Fit/features
• 2 external pockets, 4 inner pockets
• internal cellphone pocket
• 2 hip adjustment zips
• soft collar

Protection
• revolutionary EN 1621-1 CE-approved
D3O™ adaptive shoulder & elbow protection
• special foam padding at back
• optional EN 1621-2 back protector
• Connecting zip

Sizes Ladies34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46D
Colours
black
black-white

For more on this combo check out pages 34/35 of our online catalogue: Held Online Catalogue
 

Product focus: The Held 'Sarina' ladies motorcycle jacket

This awesome ladies motorcycle jacket, retailing at just £179.99, looks equally at home on or off the bike- with an excellent fit around the curves with the superb lattice belt, a fabulous feel to the jacket with the beautiful denim and wonderful detailing leaving it looking very stylish.

Superb Held 'Sarina' motorcycle jacket for ladies

The jacket has a removable thermal lining with a soft collar, and vents on the chest and back for the warmer rides!

Here's the full spec: 

• Highly durable denim look outer shell fabric
• Detachable internal thermo lining
• Waterproof, windproof and breathable Z-liner membrane
• Cotton lining
• Reflective panels
• Soft D3O CE armour at shoulders & elbows (EN1621-1)
• Specialist foam back pad, upgradeable to CE armour (EN1621-2)
• 6 outside pockets
• 2 inside pockets
• Internal mobile phone pocket
• AIR-VENT zippers at front & back
• Sleeve cuff adjustments
• Waist side adjustments
• Soft Collar

You can see the full description and more pictures on page 113 of our online catalogue, here 

 

SUZUKI ROADSHOW COMES TO HELD DEALER KC SUPERBIKES

Suzuki GB's summer-long test ride roadshow enters the final month this weekend, as popular local dealer KC Superbikes take part in the nationwide dealer event on Saturday 3 August.

A wide variety of models from the 2013 model range will be available to test ride on the day, as Held retailer KC Superbikes test ride fleet will be bolstered by an additional fleet of demo machines provided by Suzuki GB.

Buy Held from KC Sueprbikes

Models available to test ride include the iconic Hayabusa and the legendary GSX-R1000, as well as the popular V-Strom 650 adventure bike and the award winning GSR750.

Also available to test ride is the newly launched Burgman 650 Executive luxury scooter, the award-winning Inazuma 250, the GSX650F and GSX1250FA tourers, the SFV650 middleweight naked and the M1800R performance cruiser.

KC Superbikes' Robin Mumberson said, "With Suzuki bringing along even more bikes to test ride, there really will be something for everyone, and no better chance to take a test ride. We've also got 20% off Suzuki clothing on the day too. We're really looking forward to seeing everyone who comes along."


A great chance to browse some Held Bike Gear whilst your there!
 
To book your test ride, call KC Superbikes on 01228 525024 and find them at 27 Church Street, Caldewgate, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA2 5TJ.

For more information on Held Rider Equipment please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Testing race for Held wearing racer Joe Burns at Brands Hatch

 

Held wearing Joe Burns, currently 3rd in National Superstock 1000

Once again the English Summer delivered a hot race day, qualifying 1 and 2 took place on Saturday and Joe finished the day 2nd fastest behind Adam Jenkinson, a very satisfactory result. 

Joe did not get the best of starts and fell back into 4th place, however by lap 2 he had recovered to 2nd place and began to reel in the leader James East, on lap 5 Joe was in a great position to take first place, but East missed a gear causing Joe to touch his bike. The resulting damaged brake lever caused Joe to lose time, he could not brake as he would normally. 

This incident allowed Hudson Kennagh to take the lead and then Tommy Aquino passed Joe to take second place, with an ill handling bike Joe lost time to fourth place man Tristan Palmer with the net result that on Lap 14 Joe lost 3rd place, a great disappointment for him. 

Following the race Joe said; Brands looked to be one of my stronger circuits and I was pleased to qualify 2nd, the result is not what I expected, however I am glad that I finished in fourth and only dropped one place in the championship standings, it is very close with just 12 points between me and 1st place. 

Held wearer Joe Burns- not far off the lead!

The result drops Joe into third place in the championship, the gap is now 11 points to 2nd and 12 to 1st, at this stage of the season it is looking good. A satisfying result, the next race takes place at Oulton Park August 9/10/11.

To find out more information on the Held gear Joe Burns wears please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Keeping the ladies comfortable..

You've got to love the UK. But the weather can sometimes leave a little to be desired! 

The Held Tamira Jacket for ladies, at under £250, deals with just about everything Mother Nature throws our way- check it out:

One of four different colour schemes available

For several seasons the Held Hakuna adventure riding jacket has been a best seller for men. This is the ladies version. The jacket has a removable inner lining that is both waterproof/breathable and thermally insulated. With that lining zipped in, the jacket is waterproof and defends you against rain and wind-chill. Take it out, however, and you have a superb summer touring jacket with plenty of air vents. Multiple outer pockets make this practical for border crossings and the French motorways. The waterproof inner lining can be stuffed easily into a large pocket situated on the outer lower back panel. The back offers a protector pocket that can be upgraded with CE Level 2 armour from the Held range.

 

One of the other colour variations

More information

• 500D Polyamide
• Removable waterproof, breathable & insulated inner lining
• CoolMax mesh lining with 3D Air-Mesh panels
Features:
• 4 outer pockets and one external stuff pocket for the lining (back)
• 2 inner pockets & 1 mobile pocket (not suitable for Smart Phones)
• Airflow zippers on forearms, chest and back
• Adjustable waist belt
• SAS-Tec Level 1 shoulder & elbow armour
• Double sleeve adjustment

Check page 86 of our online catalogue for more details- and to see the matching trousers: Online Catalogue

Race Report: Held wearer Sean Neary, Ducati 848 challenge

Race Report – Round 3 – Snetterton 300

Race 1: 14th
Race 2: 10th 

Sean Neary, Ducati 848 challenge racer and Held wearer

It’s been a very eventful two weeks that’s for sure. We competed in the W 100 Powerbike Championship the weekend prior to Snetterton and it looked as if we would skip the Snetterton round while searching for a further sponsor to assist the team. 

A big crash at Anglesey on 30th July meant the bike sustained some damage but thanks to my Held suit I escaped with cuts and bruising but no breaks thankfully. On the Monday night I received a call from Charlie at Arclid Power who said he would make it possible for us to get to Snetterton, if I wanted to ride. 

Now if anybody asks me do I want to ride you know what the answer is! Charlie ordered the parts we needed from JHP Ducati Coventry and Cheadle Autobodies repaired the panels for us. I took a week off training as I didn’t have much movement in my neck and also heavy bruising on the hips. Thanks to the whole team we managed to get the bike repaired and off to Norfolk we went.

Sean's Held Phantom II gloves clearly visible

Many of my competitors had been testing the previous week at Snetterton so we knew we would be up against it. We tried yet another spring in the rear shock so practice was used to try and tweak this and remember which way the circuit goes. 

Qualifying turned out to be interesting to say the least. We changed gearing on Friday night and unfortunately the lads didn’t tighten the rear wheel. We left pit lane and 200 yards later the rear wheel locked against the swinging arm meaning we didn’t even get a lap in during qualifying. After some pleading with the organisers to let me in the race they agreed to let me start at the back although I hadn’t even completed a lap. The mechanics were distraught at their error but these things happen and I am 110% sure it won’t happen again!

Race 1
Starting from the back of the grid and needing some serious track time was never going to help. I battled through to 14th from the back of the grid. The positives are that I made up a good number of places but I will never enjoy finishing 14th! Enough said.

Race 2
I started race 2, 15th on the grid and after a good battle for 10th I managed to finish in 10th. After the disaster of qualifying if somebody had offered me a top 10 I would have taken it. We also tried a new rear spring again this weekend which was much more positive. A few more tweaks and we will be back challenging for the top 5 and hopefully higher for the Oulton Park round. In addition with assistance from Motul we now have the front braking issue solved and the team know exactly what to do to ensure they stay strong throughout the race.

To summarise it was certainly a tough weekend but the way my team worked after the qualifying session gave me great faith for the remainder of the season. My sponsors once again pulled together to get us there and as always I am truly grateful. With Arclid Power now on board for the remainder of the season in addition to our existing sponsors it should give the team more stability. I am now in training for my Calais to Amsterdam cycle at the end of the month so I will be in fighting fit shape for Brands! Let’s av it!

Thank you all
Sean #10



To find out more about the gear Sean wears please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

7th Place for Held wearer Joe Burns at Snetterton

National Superstock 1000 racer Joe Burns and his Held leathers

 Soaring temperatures at Snetterton Circuit over the weekend helped encourage a huge crowd of spectators to come and watch for some excellent racing, with the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship continuing to maintain its strength with 54 entries.
Qualifying 1 took place on Friday afternoon, with Joe still learning the Snetterton 300 track layout, the resulting 8th fastest time was just 7 tenths off the table topping time set by Jimmy Storrar who was riding a BMW, a bike well suited to the long straights of this circuit. 

Saturday brought a continuation of the good weather, and Qualifying 2 was held just after midday, by the time the chequered flag came out Joe had posted the 6th fastest time giving him a combined qualifying grid position of 7th for the feature race on Sunday.
Joe did not get the best of starts and fell back into 11th place, however by lap 3 he had moved up to 10th and then the race was interrupted by a safety car for 3 laps whilst a fallen rider and bike where recovered, by lap 13 Joe had made it to 7th place where he would finish the race. 

After the race Joe said "I came here not expecting a great deal, it not a favourite circuit of mine, so to finish 7th is better than I expected, but this is a long season and I have held onto 2nd place in the Championship."
 
The result keeps Joe in second place, the gap has opened up to 25 points between 1st and 2nd place, but closed down to just 1 point between 2nd and 3rd . A satisfying result, the next race takes place at Brands Hatch on July 19/20/21

For more information on Held motorcycle clothing, Held motorcycle helmets and Held motorcycle accessories please visit www.held-uk.co.uk

Held gloves - how they are made

Held gloves. Many awards, huge amounts of great feedback. Here's how we make 'em. Here's why they're good!

Grading

Every single piece of cowhide, kangaroo pelt and stingray skin is checked by hand – often by Erhard Held or his son Christian Held personally. Hides are very rarely perfect, but any faults such as marks from barbed wire, thorns or ticks are identified and the piece rejected. The leather is then soaked so that it can be stretched for punching, to ensure that the finished items will not lose its shape with use.

Punching


All Held gloves are punch cut. This is far more precise and provides a cleaner edge than cutting with scissors. A costly, sharpened metal die must be fabricated for each leather section. And when you consider that a pair of Held Phantom gloves has 156 individual sections, this means we need a lot of cutters! It then takes 18 minutes to punch out each pair.

Moulding

We only use carbon fibre of the highest grade, which we punch-cut and pressure mould ourselves to ensure a perfect fit. Once cut, each piece is heated to 450˚C and then subjected to 40 tons of pressure and shaped over our custom moulds. These custom protectors are often underlain with shock absorbing gel and sometimes even overlaid with Titanium.

Stitching

Each pair of gloves take a highly skilled machinist 90 minutes of sewing time.

Finishing

Finally every single Held glove is carefully formed on hot irons to create the perfect ergonomic fit. Once this is achieved, the material and workmanship of each one is carefully inspected. If even the slightest irregularity is detected, the glove will be rejected.

There! Hope you found that interesting. We'll be blogging lots more from now on - so please be sure to check back. Meanwhile, if you'd like to know more about Held, our range, our stockists etc please visit www.held-uk.co.uk 

Pics: c Held GmbH; schöffel design

c Held GmbH; schöffel design