A PROFESSIONAL track motorcyclist has praised the role of his protective kit after walking away unscathed from a horror crash.

Kurt Wigley was riding in the Oulton Park International race at the Cheshire venue with his SorryMate team, who are based in Warrington.

But when attempting to overtake another racer at 140mph, he came off his bike and was sent sliding across the track surface.

In an interview, Kurt said: “I was travelling well in the race but made a mistake midway through and dropped a few places.

“After managing to gain back a place and attempting to take another, it all started to go wrong and ended disastrously.

“Out of the blue, the bike seemed to lose drive and with racing being so close and me travelling at about 140mph, I had no time to brake.

“I ended up hitting the back of another bike and it ended up being a huge crash.”

Despite coming off his bike at high speed, Kurt walked away without a scratch and was quick to praise his protective kit which prevented him from acquiring serious injuries.

“I really take my hat off to all of my kit which has done such a fantastic job in protecting me,” he said.

“The Hideout leathers I was wearing have an inner Kevlar layer which helped them to really stand up to the challenge, as did my HJC helmet.

“I’m absolutely fine and don’t have a scratch on me, which is phenomenal when you’ve had to jump off a bike at 140mph and slide across the tarmac.”

Saffron Shirreffss, from SorryMate, said: “We were devastated initially to see him come off and we didn’t know whether he was ok or not.

“Luckily, within 10 seconds he had jumped up and walked off the track.

“Motorsport is filled with danger and at SorryMate we deal with motorcycle crashes on a daily basis, so we know how important the right protective gear is.”

Kurt, his fellow racer and twin brother Matt, and his SorryMate team are currently working with Highways England in a campaign to encourage the use of safety gear on motorcycles.

This warns riders of the dangers of not wearing appropriate protective clothing and advises motorcyclists to enrol on potentially life-saving courses.

READ > Video captures horrifying near misses and crashes in Cheshire this year

Staffordshire-born Kurt said: “We put our face towards the Highways England Bike Safe scheme to promote wearing the right gear on bikes.

“A lot of people just stick their jeans and T-shirt on, but its only when you see crashes like this that you see how important wearing the right kit is.

“All of our gear has stood up to the challenge, so it’s definitely important to making sure you have the right kit which will look after you and that you wear it when riding.”