Ladies Who Ride! Review: DRC custom-made Race Leathers by Danielle Kernick

MoreBikes caught up with Danielle Kernick to find out about her custom leathers – her DRC Racer Leathers:

“The process of getting my custom DRC Race Leathers began back in November 2019! This was during the Supermoto off season and I was getting due for a new set of leathers after some crash testing in my previous Oxford leathers –  meaning they were on their last legs.

I was measured up by Lewis at DRC and the design had already been drawn up to include all of my SMD Racing Team sponsors, as-well as my own personal sponsors. I chose to be measured including wearing my own back protector which I brought with me to my appointment. DRC do offer the choice of being measured by them either at their shop or if you catch them at an event they’re attending or sending them your own measurements by following their measuring guide, but I chose to drive to them because I didn’t trust myself with a measuring tape.

Once the design was finalised and they had my measurements it was a couple of months turn around time until they landed on my doorstep. I couldn’t help myself trying them on as soon as they arrived and they fit great apart from they mid section seemed too big for me. I contacted Jay at DRC and after another fitting, found there had been an issue with my measurements and that I’d require a new set. As annoying as this might sound it wasn’t the end of the world. The customer service was great and I was able to use the first set for the pre season warm up and my revised set arrived in time for the first round.

I promptly christened my new leathers with a small low side in Scotland where I slid a few meters on my backside and other than some small scuffs to the sponsor patch on my side, the structural integrity of the leathers held up perfectly and there was no damage to the stitching.

As of now I have raced in my DRC leathers for the past 2 seasons and they’ve saved me from plenty of crashes. The only damage to them is the patches they sew on for customisation and these can be replaced by either sending the leathers back to DRC or by ordering your patches and attaching them yourself. This is something I’ve been meaning to get around to but the scuffs don’t bother me too much.

You only have to take a look at their Facebook page to see how many people from different paddocks around the UK and further use DRC leathers. They show their design process so if you’re looking for inspiration you can take a look through their hundreds of designs. They also show their recently completed and crash tested suits to show how these suits hold up when they’re given some abuse.

Over the years DRC have also posted how their designs have changed and how they are constantly looking to update and improve their products. Although I only have their Supermoto spec suit, they also do custom designed gloves and work with companies to be able to provide a full custom set up including helmet and boots depending on what you’re after.

Overall my experience wearing my DRC leathers has been very positive. As they are custom fit leathers and not an off the shelf set, I don’t have the fitment issues I’ve had wearing previous brands such as Oxford and Alpinestars where my chest felt tight when zipping them up. You can also have these leathers designed to accommodate any additional protection you wish to wear underneath, such as a specific back protector, however they do come with their armour and back protector included.

All of the previous leathers that I have used have been mens sets so changing from these to a custom set made for me was a breath of fresh air. After plenty of crashes over the last 2 seasons I can definitely say I’ll be looking at DRC when I’m ready for my next set of race leathers.”

Thank you, Danielle!