FAVOURITES + EVENTS

Time for summer gloves and, at last, places to actually go.

Alpinestars GP Tech £259.99

I’ve lost count of how many racing crashes I’ve had wearing these, and their predecessors, over the past 15 years. But, my still-in-one-piece fingers can testify to their performance. They do take some breaking-in but after that they’re comfortable, dexterous and durable. Alpinestars join the third and fourth fingers together, which takes some getting used to, but worth it to stop little pinkies flailing in a spill. In all this time I’ve only needed to replace them when they’ve become tired looking, never through crash damage. MN

Held Curt/burt £80.54

A nice, simple, well made short summer glove that I also use for trail riding. There’s a Velcro cuff, knuckle protection, finger stretch panels and ventilation perforations on the palm side. After two years hard use they’re a bit smelly, but show no signs of wear. My palms and fingers say I’m a size 8 glove, my thumb says size 9. Thumb wins. This model now superseded by the Burt version which also has touch screen sensitive material in the fingers. HW

Dainese Druid D1 £179.95

Love these gloves, worn for three years and they still remind me of the ones Foggy wore when he was winning WSB championships. Protection is superb including carbon composite on the knuckles and back with hard plastic inserts on the palm, finger joints and little finger. Only niggles are they haven’t become supple with age and they have a few scratchy seams inside, not noticeable while riding though. Vented fingers keep hands cool in summer. PL

Furygan Fit-r £119.99

These are the most comfortable summer race gloves I’ve worn but after four years they’re on the way out – the goat leather on the fingertips on the right glove has started to give way. The chunky knuckle guards don’t put pressure on the back of your hand, and the palms are cleverly cut so any bunching happens at the top of the fingers so you don’t notice while gripping the bars. The Fit-rs are discontinued and available at half price. The new equivalent is the Shifter. JW

‘Four lap races lasting a minute, on bikes with no brakes. See it…’