“I don’t want to be known as a disabled driver!”
Those are the words of 16-year-old Alex Tait, who races in the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Series. Alex Zanardi has led the way in showing anything is possible for those with disabilities, but how does one cope when at the start of a racing career aged just 16?
Alex suffers from Myotonic Dystrophy, a muscle-wasting disease inherited from his mother, and also only has one kidney which only functions at 60%. However, he is determined it will not affect his racing ambitions. This is his first and final year in the Fiesta Juniors as he turns 17 in October. He combines his racing with GCSE exams at school, and has big plans moving forward.
“I aim to race Classic Touring Cars in 2016 with a long-term aim of following Nic Hamilton into BTCC if possible but of course, it all comes down to budget and sponsors helping me to get the breaks.”
In fact the only type of racing he isn’t looking to move into is single-seaters.
“With the muscle wasting my head wouldn’t be able to cope with the downforce and would be moving all over the place.”
His first experience of motorsport was aged nine when his parents took him to Donington Park to watch the Boss GP series and the Sheffield-based youngster was hooked. Despite his health issues, he decided he wanted to race and attended the “Get Going Live” event for young disabled drivers held at Donington Park. This, in turn, led him to the “Loughborough Car Club Disabled Driver Scholarship” and in time Alex passed his ARDS test.
Alex is an ambassador for Get Going Live and also for Muscular Dystrophy, a role which holds him up as an example to all disabled drivers that they can have a racing future.
“It’s important to me that disabled drivers are not treated any differently to any other driver. I started racing AutoSolos under the Loughborough Car Club which I found really helped me learn how cars handle.”
His cars in the future may need to be adapted so that he can race competitively, something that Alex Zanardi has to do to enable him to race. The BRSCC and MSA would never allow a driver in a car if they had any doubts and their attitudes to Alex and similar drivers does them enormous credit.
Alex Tait has started his maiden season encouragingly and with his team manager at Specialized Motorsport, Simon Horrobin, as mentor he is going from strength to strength. Horrobin himself is an experienced racer, and therefore knows a talent when he sees one.
To sum up, the Paralympics have shown all of us that having a disability need not stop you from fulfilling your sporting dreams. Indeed in the 2012 London games I did not talk to one person who didn’t see the participants as anything other than athletes, just as it should be. Motorsport has followed the example and young drivers like Alex Tait are seen just as racing drivers.
