Blog: "Racing cars is all I’ve ever really wanted to do"
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) website features a blog post every Friday through the year.
In 2016 we’ll be taking a look at an A-Z of accessible sporting and fitness opportunities available to disabled people. This week it’s M for motorsport, and Alex Tait discusses his passion for putting the pedal to the metal.
Read more in the A-Z blogs series.
Alex’s blog:
I race a Honda Civic Type R at the moment, which can reach 120mph at its fastest. I’m competing once a month, all over the country at places like Donington and Silverstone.
I got my driving license in December – I actually passed first time! I’ve been competing in motorsport since I was 14.
To be honest racing cars is all I’ve ever really wanted to do. It’s all I’ve ever been interested in – at school I wasn’t into football, more into cars and racing, and I was seen as a bit of a weird kid.
I first tried motor racing at a show called Get Going Live at Donington, which is an event for young disabled people to get behind the wheel. You can start at 14 and you get a chance to get your first experience of driving on a track with adaptations made to the cars.
I soon found out about the Loughborough Scholarship, whose representatives were there at Donington holding practical demonstrations. You could just jump into the car and have a go. I got in and went round and absolutely loved it.
So I applied for the Scholarship, knowing that the least I would get out of it was a day messing about in a car. But I got it, and I was absolutely gobsmacked.
I think they were impressed with where I’ve come from, my passion for the sport and the fact that I was willing to both drive fast but listen to what I needed to be told.
These days I race against non-disabled people – no-one else in my class of touring cars is disabled. I’m the youngest driver in the club as well.
I can’t really describe how I feel when I’m racing because it’s really all about focus and concentration. After a race has finished I feel a real buzz, that’s when it hits. And when you’re diving back to the pits you feel amazing.
Three years into my motorsport career I’m proud to have reached where I have, particularly as I have a form of muscular dystrophy known as myotonic dystrophy. It’s a progressive condition which over time slowly wastes away the muscles in your body. It affects your legs and arms and even your heart, so you’re more prone to heart attacks. There is nothing that can be done about it – there’s no cure.
And if you consider that most sportspeople might use a gym to build up muscle, well I can’t. It has the reverse effect on me and in speeds up the wasting process. So I have to do the best with what I’ve got.
I think in terms of physicality motorsport is right up there alongside other sports. It’s common that people think that all you do in the car is sit down and turn the wheel. The unseen factors include things like G-forces and the fact that it requires constant focus and concentration. Racing a car is not as easy as people think.
After I race I am much more tired than the other drivers. I’m often carried out of the car, whereas most can just climb out. Or I need time to relax and get my strength back.
And during a race, which is about 20 minutes long, people may get a little tired. I am constantly fighting fatigue, almost all the way through.
Motor racing is dangerous, and an accident could happen to anybody. I don’t think I’m any more at risk because of my condition. If I did think I was at risk then I wouldn’t be out there competing. And of course you choose not to think about it, to have the racing mentality that crashes happen to other people, not to you.
Motorsport is just something I’ve always wanted to do, always be a part of. My ambition has always been to drive. If I wasn’t able to drive I would still have a great interest in the sport.
I’m just lucky that I'm in the position I am, progressing up through the ranks and being able to do it. The whole package, the driving, the competition, is a mixture that I really enjoy.
As a disabled person, to me it’s all about doing what you want to do, pursuing your dream because it will make you happy.
Read more in the A-Z blogs series.
