Armin Schwarz newsletter 2007-10-06

AGM - Faces of our team
Kyle Callen - a top automotive technician

Kyle Callen joined AGM a year ago. He is one of the automotive technicians who always find solutions to problems no matter where and what the circumstances in record time. Kyle loves speed - not only when in making our Buggy really fast for the desert - but in his hobby speed boating.

High-tech head protection: my Stand 21 helmet

In off-road racing things have a habit of flying around. Our cockpit is open at the front and that's one of the good reasons why you need a helmet of excellent quality. When it comes to high-tech head protection I have put my faith in Stand 21 for many years. The French company is the world's market and technology leader in clothing for racing apparel. I wear a Stand 21 carbon-fibre helmet which is very different compared to what one would know from circuit racing.

The most noticeable difference is probably the hose that leads into the left-hand side of my helmet. Fresh air is blown into my helmet through this air duct. A "skirt" attached to the bottom of the helmet keeps the air inside, creating a slight overpressure. This overpressure helps to keep the dust out. The skirt is made of fire-resistant Nomex. I can operate the air fan in two levels. The second level creates quite a storm in my helmet. This power blast is very handy when my visor fogs up after I've driven through deep water.

My helmet features a microphone and loud speaker for radio communication with the loud speak er being just a back up should my earplug that I normally use give up the ghost.

The visor is very thick to protect my face from flying stones, with the many tear-off visors giving additional protection against the flying gravel.

My Stand 21 helmet gives me top protection - and what is even more important at a 500 kilometre non-stop race through the desert is that this carbon-fibre life insurance around my head is really comfortable - I really only notice it when a rock cracks against the shell with a loud bang.

-credit: www.armin-schwarz.com