Team BRIT: competing with the elite

Few organisations embody Christopher Ward’s Challenger spirit better than Team BRIT – the world’s first all-disabled motorsport team.

Last season, Chris Overend and James Whitley, driving the adapted BMW M240i, came first in the Britcar Trophy. At the same time, Aaron Morgan and Bobby Trundley, in the McLaren 570s GT4, took second in the Pro-Am GT4 part of the British GT Championship.

July marks the midpoint of the motorsport season, so we caught up with Team BRIT’s PR manager Lucy Sheehan to talk about the squad’s progress this year and how they’re coping with life at the top.

Hi Lucy, how’s life for Team BRIT this season?
We’ve entered Aaron Morgan and Bobby Trundley, driving the McLaren 570s GT4, into a new championship, the McLaren Trophy, Europe. It’s staged across continental Europe over five weekends, with two races per event. It exposes us to a bigger audience – and we’re the only disabled team competing.

You’ve just raced in Spa. How did it go?
We started with the driver parade supporting the 24-hr race (also taking place at the weekend) so we got to drive our car into the town – very cool! On the track, we secured the 570s GT4 pole position for both races. The first race looked good for an overall podium, but in the end, we had to settle for second in class. That first win is getting closer! Unfortunately, on Saturday, due to an incident in an earlier race and torrential rain, the second race was cancelled.

“We’re hitting new milestones, setting new standards and recruiting new drivers”

Why aren’t you competing in the British GT Championship?
We started the year in the British GT, but the problem is the car. Even though it’s only a couple of years old, the McLaren 570s GT4 is old in racing terms. All the other teams are driving the new McLaren Artura – and we can’t compete with that: it’s not a level playing field. So we’ve moved to the McLaren Trophy, where everyone is in a 570s GT4. As well as Aaron and Bobby, last year’s Britcar Trophy winners, Chris Overend and James Whitley, now have a McLaren 570s GT4, too.

What about your other drivers?
We’ve got two new drivers in the Citroen C1 endurance class. Anji Silva-Vadgama is married to another one of our drivers, Anji Silva, and has autism. She’s seriously fast, and her progress has been amazing. Then there’s Noah Crosby. He’s only 18, and two years ago, stretched his spine in a motocross jump – so is paralysed from the ribs down. It was such a blow for him, but he’s embracing life as a Team BRIT driver. These two will go far!

Another pair of drivers, Paul Fullick and Tyrone Mathurin, are driving the BMW M240i this season. It hasn’t all been plain sailing! At Oulton Park in Cheshire, the engine died in their first race, so Paul drove to Manchester, found the part they needed, and returned in time to have it fitted. They ended up on the podium!

What’s the general health of Team BRIT at the moment?
When Team BRIT was formed, it was only one car and two drivers. Now we have nine drivers, four cars and we’re competing in four championships. We’re hitting new milestones, setting new standards and recruiting new drivers. We want to welcome people who’ve never raced before and put them on the ladder of development.

Away from racing we’re involved in a project to help deaf drivers – working on heads-up displays so they can communicate with the pits. We’re also developing a racing simulator – for e-racing – which you can adapt your wheelchair to. It really is about opening up racing to as many disabled people as possible. Who knows where it might end up!