Skip to main content

Billy Monger Back Behind the Wheel in Beetle Fun Cup Car

Some of you may remember a few months ago hearing about a young driver who lost his legs after hitting a stationary car during a Formula 4 event at Donnington Park. Billy Monger was 17 at the time and hoped to someday drive at Le Mans when that accident took the lower half of both his legs.

It seems now, though, that Monger’s dream may still come true. That’s thanks to Team BRIT, a race team that aims to put people with disabilities (such as lost limbs or PTSD) behind the wheels of race cars.

One of Team BRIT’s cars, a Beetle Fun Cup car, is set up with its specially designed hand controls. The team recently invited Monger to a track day at Brands Hatch to let him test it out.

“It’s been really good just to get back behind the wheel,” said Monger. “Team BRIT had two steering wheels for me to try today, I’ve decided which one I prefer.”

Now that he’s chosen which wheel he prefers, all that’s left to do is to perfect a new driving technique. He wasn’t quite ready to go out racing, it only having been a scant few months since the April accident, but wants to perfect his technique until he’s winning races again.

During his time at the legendary track, Monger met Team BRIT’s founder, Dave Player.

“I hope today has been useful in helping him back on his journey, getting him back on the track, and helping him re-gain his race license,” said Player.

Player says that the point of Team BRIT is to normalize disability, by showing that so-called disabled racers can compete on an even playing field with anyone.

To that end, Player ultimately wants Team Brit to compete at Le Mans with a team of disabled drivers, a team that could someday include Monger.

That’s for later, though. For now, the young racer just needs to get back on track, something he has vowed to do after turning 18.

“People keep saying I’m the inspiration but I think all these people coming together to support someone who has gone through an accident like this, they’re the true inspiration,” he told the BBC.

The post Billy Monger Back Behind the Wheel in Beetle Fun Cup Car appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2uqLztm
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...