Team BRIT – the world’s only competitive all-disabled racing team, has been announced as the winner of the Britcar Trophy Championship, making it the first ever all-disabled team to win a national racing series.
Today, Chris Overend from Southampton and James Whitley from Eastbourne were named as winners of the championship following the final races of the season held at Donington Park yesterday, Sunday 23rd October. The pair put in a fantastic performance throughout, driving the team’s BMW M240i, which is fitted with the team’s world-leading hand controls which enable them to compete against able-bodied competitors.
Chris uses a wheelchair as a result of development dysplasia of the hips. James was born with no hands and also sustained major injuries as a child after a boating accident. He is now also a GB Paralympian skier and missed the first round of the season due to competing for Team GB in Beijing.
The pair put in a consistently strong performance, despite it being the first ever year of racing for them both, finishing with a 53 point lead in their class and a 7 point lead in the overall championship.
The news follows confirmation of a 2nd place finish in class for drivers Bobby Trundley and Aaron Morgan in the British GT Championship. Bobby was diagnosed with severe autism as a child and Aaron broke his back in a motocross accident at the age of 15.
The team was formed in 2015 by ex Royal Engineer Dave Player and originally consisted of injured military veterans. In 2019, the team opened its doors to any disabled drivers and its long-term goal is to become the first ever all-disabled team to race in the Le Mans 24 hour.
This year, its 8 drivers have competed in the Britcar Trophy, British Endurance Championship and British GT Championship.
Driver James Whitley said: “What an incredible end to the season. We had 2 races yesterday and an extremely exciting first race, were we started from the back and managed to surge to the front. Race 2 reminded us not to take anything for granted with a couple of the car issues which the crew had to fight to fix for us.
“I’m in shock over how well this first season has gone – we have literally made history. A special thank you to the crew, who are just exceptional – their hard work and quick thinking made it all possible.”
Driver Chris Overend said: “I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved as a team. None of this would be possible without everyone putting in 100% every race weekend I’m so grateful for the support of our sponsors, our families and everyone that has come to cheer us on. We believed and we achieved!”
