Team Brit get valuable support to continue their race habilitation programme

Wednesday, February 03, 2021

 


An inspirational charity which helps people affected by limb loss and other disabilities has pledged its continued support of Team BRIT.

The Douglas Bader Foundation has provided valuable funding to the all-disabled racing team, which aims to enhance accessibility in motorsport. It has an ethos aligned to that of Team BRIT and aims to empower people to achieve their goals by giving them experiences they will remember for a lifetime.

Team BRIT has its roots firmly in the military, as it was originally set up to support injured troops. It is still owned by linked charity KartForce, which helps injured military personnel with their recovery and rehabilitation through karting.

In 2013, when Kartforce needed funds to create hand controls for a Jaguar XF-S so a team of injured troops could race in mainstream events, that The Douglas Bader Foundation stepped in.


The hand controls meant that the racers, some of whom were double-amputees, could compete on a totally level playing field.

Team BRIT founder Dave Player said: “We are delighted The Douglas Bader Foundation, an organisation that shares similar core values to our own, has pledged its support of our team once again.

“We’ve worked together for some time now, building a fantastic partnership with shared aims, and we’re so glad this is continuing, to help us support the future generations of disabled racing drivers.”


In 2019, the foundation supported four disabled drivers, via a grant, giving them the opportunity to pass their racing certificates on simulators and a modified Golf.

And in 2020, they equipped a driver Nerys Pearce, who is paralysed from the chest down, with a personalised seat, giving her the opportunity to start racing for the first time. 


CEO of The Douglas Bader Foundation, David Bickers added: “Our relationship has always been a strong one and with our latest grant and association with the Team BRIT Racing Team for 2021 enables our increased visibility to continue the legacy of an historic double amputee fighter pilot helping a generation of British forces drivers with a variety of disabilities to re- build and re- shape their lives and show the world what they are truly capable of.”

Team BRIT, whose mission is to make history at Le Mans as the first ever British all-disabled team to participate, has previously supported the foundations’ Bader Braves Go Karting Days by adapting hand controls to allow children with lower and upper limb difference to participate.


Team BRIT’s cars are fitted with world-leading hand control technology to enable its drivers to compete equally, revolutionising motorsport, with the aim of making it more accessible.

Source material - Team Brit
Photo credits - David Archer / Britcar / Team Brit / RAF Archive
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