Adrenaline, passion and resilience: How disabled athletes conquer the world of motorsport

A normal day in April 2006: 15-year-old Aaron Morgan from Basingstoke in England is looking forward to riding his motocross bike on his favourite track. Full of eagerness and highly focussed, he mounts his bike, the engines of his opponents are already roaring around him, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Ready to give it his all, he waits for the start signal and shoots off, kicking up a huge cloud of dust, sand and dirt, determined to be the first to cross the finish line. Little does he know that this ride will be his last on a motocross bike. Because when he lands after a jump, he falls - and his vision turns black. Four weeks later, he wakes up from his coma and is struck by a heavy blow of fate. His doctors told him that he would have to give up motorsport for the rest of his life, as he would be paralysed from then on.

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But the young, ambitious man does not let this get him down. After initially concentrating on his education and learning to deal with his life as a paraplegic as best as he could, the now 31-year-old returned to motorsport. Henceforth, he swaps his wheelchair for a small but fast BMW and is happier than ever. "Aaron started out with nothing and is now the fastest disabled racing driver in the world," says Dave Player, the founder and team boss of TeamBrit, proudly about his best driver. He also uses a wheelchair, so he knows what it is like to be restricted in everyday life. Influenced by his own impairment and his service in the British Army, he initially founded a charity organization for wounded soldiers in 2010. Driven by his love of sport and cars, he initially introduced the members of his organization to karting, he explains in the interview. "In 2015, they [the drivers from the charity organization] came up to me and asked if they could race real cars. I told them: No problem, but only if we can be competitive."

Kartforce - the early days of TeamBrit

The trained mechanic set himself the goal of equipping his team in terms of personnel and technology and modifying his racing cars so that they could easily keep up with racing cars driven by people without disability status. Player explains enthusiastically: "We had to find a solution to make operating the car as easy as possible." The clattering of tools can already be heard from Player's office, as the TeamBrit mechanics have their workplace just a few metres away from the offices in a large, spacious workshop. Surrounded by the smell of oil and petrol and the occasional scream of the engines, they have developed a new manual control technology, together with the Slovenian manufacturer MME Motorsport, driven by the desire for perfection. Using special pneumatic, electronic and hydraulic devices and levers on the steering wheel, they can operate the gearstick and clutch as well as the brakes and accelerator and, of course, steer at the same time. "Everything that a normal racing driver does with two hands and two feet, our drivers can do with two hands," says the Englishman proudly. The large factory hall, based in the county of West Sussex in the south-east of the country, therefore houses a number of simulators on which the drivers can make themselves used to the tracks before driving their real racing cars on them. The simulators are set up like conventional ones, i.e. with movable seats and large monitors so that they can familiarise themselves with the racing conditions in the best possible way. The only difference: the steering wheel. When a TeamBrit driver approaches a turn, he can shift down a few gears with his thumb so that he can simultaneously operate a lever for braking with his left hand behind the steering wheel. To pick up as much speed as possible out of the turn, he presses the accelerator lever, also hidden behind the steering wheel, with his right hand and at the same time shifts up several gears again.

The revolutionary steering wheel at TeamBrit

However, the team, which now consists of nine drivers, not only has wheelchair users under contract. Two people with autism spectrum disorder also regularly take part in races with the modified racing cars, which can be easily distinguished from other cars thanks to their striking purple and blue color scheme. As no adapted steering is required for these two drivers because they still have their legs available, the modified steering wheel can simply be replaced with a conventional one. This is particularly important in the long-distance races in which the team competes, as several quick driver changes take place over several hours and therefore also the replacement of the steering wheel and the racing seat.

Thanks to this ingenious system, TeamBrit has managed to give passionate motorsport drivers like Aaron Morgan, who had little chance of a successful career due to their disability, a new opportunity and bring them a step closer to their dream. But technology alone is not enough to make a champion. Money also plays an important role in the world of motorsport, because TeamBrit is a normal motorsport team that doesn't give anyone free racing just because they have a disability. Dave Player makes his drivers aware of this again and again: "Because of their disabilities, they have inspiring stories that are very much about resilience, and so they attract much more sponsors than a conventional racing driver."

"When they line up on the grid, the drivers know that they have fought hard to get there," he continues. Enormous willpower and mental strength are required of TeamBrit's drivers to prevail against other drivers, but perhaps that is precisely what makes these people special. They have been able to grow through the difficult strokes of fate and frustrations that they have had to cope with in their lives, and this makes them superior to other drivers. "Racing has given me back a part of myself. It's difficult to describe how much it has positively influenced my self-confidence and mental health," says 18-year-old Noah Cosby, who also races for the team in a wheelchair. So together with his team, team boss Dave Player is fighting against the stereotypes of motorsport and making equal opportunities and inclusion possible in a field where you wouldn't think it could be achieved. Everything the team has developed together is designed to make it better and faster in future races, but there is another reason: "Above all, we want to make our knowledge and experience accessible to everyone in the world and support every person with a disability who wants to race", says Player about his future plans for the team.

TeamBrit drivers and cars 2023

After two championship titles and several victories that will be remembered by the entire team with trophies scattered throughout the factory, the British team is now working harder than ever to show the world, together with its drivers, that motorsport is accessible to everyone. And then perhaps another disabled athlete will soon be at the wheel of the British team, ready to embrace their destiny and give their all to get one step closer to their dream of becoming the fastest racing driver in the world. And all because a group of motivated and ambitious athletes like Aaron Morgan have inspired him to never give up on his dream.