Wounded veterans to take part in Invictus Games Racing this weekend
Motor racing ticks many boxes for former soldiers as it's a highly competitive environment where they are part of a team again.
Saturday 31 March 2018 05:27, UK
An Invictus Games team of wounded veterans are to compete against professional motor racing drivers for the first time at the British GT Championship this Easter weekend.
The team was launched in January and one of its members only set foot in a racing car in November - but the four wounded veterans are undaunted by this latest challenge. They've been through far worse.
"I'm blind in my left eye, deaf in my left ear and because of brain damage my hand doesn't work anymore and of course I've lost my leg," says Paul Vice, a former Marine and one of the team's drivers.
He was severely injured after being blown up by an IED (improvised explosive device) in Afghanistan in 2011. His life was saved but he lost the life he loved. Sport was integral to his recovery and he became the most successful male athlete at the Invictus Games in 2016, winning seven medals including two golds.
"My plan was to compete in Toronto as an established amputee and see how far my new body could go. Unfortunately I didn't make the grade for whatever reason and this opportunity came up.
"It was perfect timing because as a soldier you have that competitive edge all the time, you've got to be pushing yourself and when I didn't have sport to go to on a big stage, I was lost, I suppose and I was going on quite a big downward spiral, so this came at just the right time for me and I'm just so happy to be part of the team."
It's easy to see why motor racing ticks many boxes for the former soldiers - a highly competitive, high octane environment and, perhaps most importantly, being part of a team again.
The two bespoke Jaguar supercars were commissioned by Superdry co-founder James Holder. Mixing his love of motor racing with his support for the military, the Invictus cars were developed in top-secret and record time.
"To be able to even construct race cars from scratch in a year has never been done before on the planet so it's all about getting amazing people together doing really exciting things," says Mr Holder.
"It's going to be challenge at times. We're going to have highs and lows and successes and failures and whatever but we just want everyone who's involved to have the most amazing ride that they can take with them for the rest of their lives."
Driver Steve McCulley feels it's given him a new life. After being targeted by the Taliban in Afghanistan, he spent three weeks in a coma and three years in rehabilitation.
"There was certainly one point when I was lying in the ditch and the guys were doing the best they could to keep me alive and I did actually come to terms with dying," he recalls.
"It sounds a bit cliched but the pain disappeared and it started to go dark. In hindsight I was probably just going unconscious but when you have a moment like that you certainly look at life differently. And I've been given this amazing opportunity so I'm grasping it with both hands."
:: The team will compete in their first race in the British GT Championship at Oulton Park in Cheshire this weekend.