Team BRIT is raising awareness of how motorsport can help in the rehabilitation of injured veterans, and those suffering with PTSD or depression.
As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, held from today, Monday 8th May,
they will be sharing the story of their findings to date and the experiences of
their team of injured veterans across social media.
The team is a branch of the charity
KartForce, set up to inspire, challenge and motivate injured ex-troops through
motorsport. Military veterans are
invited to take part in karting events across the country and some are selected
to join Team BRIT –a competitive racing team.
They have seen firsthand the positive
effects that motor racing can have on those suffering from mental health conditions
as a result of their time in the military, and hope that this may inspire
others with similar conditions to consider this type of sport.
One of Team BRIT’s drivers, Warren
McKinlay from Braintree, suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a
motorcycle accident whilst serving in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical
Engineers. It resulted in him being
diagnosed with Cotard’s Syndrome – a condition which led him to believe he was
dead and living in purgatory. After long-term support from medical experts and
his family, he has made a good recovery but still suffers with erratic mood
swings and depression. He believes that
competitive racing provides an escape from these effects.
Warren said, “When I’m driving, all
the other challenges I face and the ‘noise’ that goes on in my head goes
away. It’s just me, the car and the
track and it provides an escape like nothing else.
“I think the focus, the adrenaline
rush, and the camaraderie of the team all contribute to this effect, I’d
encourage anyone suffering with any mental health condition to consider this
kind of sport to see if it could also help them.”
The team is supporting a clinical
study into the effects of motorsport on injured veterans and drivers recently
took part in the first in a series of interviews to take place over the next
three years.
In 2014 Dr Nigel Hunt, an Associated
Professor in the School of Medicine at Nottingham University carried out a
Clinical Study into the effects of karting on armed forces veterans. He spent
time interviewing 15 drivers, including professional racers Damon Hill, Johnny
Herbert and Eddie Irvine along with Kartforce and Team BRIT drivers. He concluded that karting had contributed
significantly to their recovery.
Dr Hunt
found benefits to include the sense of comradeship in karting which is similar to
that of the armed forces, the
adrenaline buzz, the focus,
the competitiveness and the discipline; all qualities
that veterans described that an armed forces experience provided; and that they
had lost since being injured. Drivers also reported that karting enabled them
to compete on equal terms with able bodied racers.
Dr Hunt is now carrying out a further
3-year PhD study into the subject and
his student, Danai Serfioti, a PhD researcher in Applied Psychology at The
University of Nottingham, spent time with Team BRIT drivers Andy Searle, Jimmy
Hill, Warren McKinlay and Tony Williams as well as KartForce drivers at a recent
rack day.
Team Founder Dave Player said: “Mental
Health Awareness Week provides an opportunity for us to raise awareness of our belief
and our findings that motorsport can be hugely powerful in supporting injured
veterans.
“KartForce is the only Forces
motorsport organization to have undertaken a clinical study of this nature and
we are firm in the belief that work such as this will continue to help gain
support and respect for the positive effects motorsport can bring to our
veterans and others suffering with depression or PTSD.
“It’s such a
unique sport that can provide a focus and an
adrenaline rush like no other and KartForce looks to show veterans and
others that they can participate, even with disabilities. We look forward to
further supporting Nigel and Danai in their studies and to hearing about their
findings.”
Team BRIT aims to be the first ever
all-disabled team to enter Le Mans in 2020.
Previous article
