HANS finds counterfeit parts, sues

UPDATE HANS Performance Products has been granted a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and expedited discovery in a suit against Impact Racing Products. The SFI Foundation's motion to become a party in HANS' action against Impact has also been granted. The orders relate to counterfeit HANS Post Anchors that have been discovered at the track in recent weeks. The Federal Court orders require Impact to advise its customers that Post Anchors they have received from them may be counterfeit. Impact is also required to preserve all related products and business records to help identify the source of the counterfeit parts. Post Anchors are a vital part of a racer's head and neck restraint safety system. Genuine HANS Post Anchors provide a robust and reliable latching method to connect racers' HANS Devices to their helmets. HANS PR

08/19/09 HANS Performance Products has found counterfeit Post Anchor parts on a helmet purchased from Impact Racing Products.

Preliminary investigations suggest that counterfeit parts may have been supplied with other helmets provided by Impact. “We are seeking the source of the counterfeit anchors and to establish how widely they may have been distributed," said HANS CEO Mark Stiles. He continued, “It is extremely possible that counterfeits may have been installed on other helmets, either factory-fitted by a helmet manufacturer or by racers installing replacement parts during equipment changes."

The only counterfeit parts identified so far look like HANS’ current “Professional" Post Anchors, which are designed to offer robust durable service – these have a “teardrop" shaped head to the “post" and an aluminum base engraved with HANS, SFI and FIA markings. Other Post Anchor designs, such as the similar current “Standard" version, which have the same teardrop post but a simpler black plastic base, and older designs which had a round shaped head to the post, do not seem to have been counterfeited.

Stiles said, “If racers want to check their Professional Series Post Anchors, one quick test is to touch a magnet to the post. The posts used in all our designs since July 2005 are magnetic. The posts on the counterfeits we have seen are not magnetic." He continued, “Our earlier designs used a non-magnetic material for the post, so a non-magnetic post is not necessarily a counterfeit, but it is a reason why a racer should contact us for more information."

Details and information about HANS Performance Products are available at www.hansdevice.com or by calling 1-888-HANS-999 or 770-457-1046.