45-year-old Steve from Southampton sustained life changing injuries in 1998 when he was in the back seat of a car that was hit by another vehicle and veered off the road after hitting black ice when trying to get away. Emergency services spent two hours extracting him from the car before he was rushed to Southampton for emergency treatment. He was operated on, with metal put into his spine, and after two weeks he was transferred to Odstock Spinal Unit in Salisbury Hospital where he spent nine months working on his rehabilitation and recovery.
After leaving hospital and setting up in a new home, Steve soon got back into his passion – driving. He converted a car with the adaptations he needed and had it shipped to America to take part in the Gumball Rally, driving from New York to Los Angeles. He went on to take part in the race 4 years in a row.
Steve took part in a Team BRIT academy session at Silverstone in 2022 and was instantly hooked. He raced alongside new rookie Yvonne Houffelar in the 750 Motor Club Enduro Championship, driving a VW Scirocco fitted with the hand controls. Finishing 12th in their class and 26th overall. He is racing in the Citroen C1 Series from March 2023.
Steve said: “Being a racing driver has been my lifetime dream since I was 6 years old. After my accident, I thought it was game over, and that the opportunities to compete in motorsport just wouldn’t be there.
“To finally have the chance to compete in the sport I love is just amazing. My ultimate dream is to be racing a GT3 car, so I want to continue to learn and improve with the team with the goal of joining them in Le Mans.”
