On a nondescript industrial estate just outside Wantage, three men are repairing a car. Nothing unusual about that. But what if I told you that all three of these men are in wheelchairs – and that they will be racing the car they’re repairing before the year is out?
This is Mission Motorsport, a charity that was set up by former tank commander James Cameron, with the aim of helping personnel who have been injured and medically discharged from the Armed Forces to put their lives back together through the medium of sport.
The premise was simple: by setting up events at racing circuits with passenger rides and driving experiences for veterans, the charity could bring together those who may feel lost after having their careers, the lives they had planned – and possibly even physical parts of their bodies – taken from them, putting them in touch with others who may have been through the same thing, even helping them to retrain and rehabilitate.
“The idea behind Mission Motorsport is that sport can be restorative and a force for healing,” says Mark White, the charity’s operations manager. “Cars are a nice attraction; the events we run are opportunities to get people together and put an arm around them.”
Since then, Mission Motorsport has grown. The charity now operates out of a pair of industrial units – one a training centre, allowing it to offer courses to endow its beneficiaries with new skills and even qualifications in order to help them on their way to a new career.
The second is a workshop where veterans can come along to help to modify and maintain the cars that the charity owns or borrows, many of which are used to offer passenger rides on events, or simply to speak to like-minded people. “It’s like a drop-in centre,” says White. “We’re always here, even if people simply want to wander in and have a chat.”
People such as Dom Pearson. After an accident rendered him paralysed from the waist down while serving in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Pearson says his increasingly regular visits to the workshop are helping him to adjust to his new situation.
“I only recently came out of hospital after two years in recovery,” he says. “This feels like getting back to my former life. I’ve always been interested in cars and a workshop environment is my environment.
“Coming here means getting the chance to meet people who are in similar situations, like these guys,” he adds, gesturing to Mike Smith and Steve Binns, fellow veterans who, along with Charlie Frances, a former body shop manager, are working alongside Pearson to bring the Subaru back to its former glory. “It’s also about finding out what I can and can’t do. And that’s bringing back my self-esteem and my confidence.”
The Subaru itself is a new project for the charity, one that’s been concocted in partnership with eBay. The idea is to take a written-off car and put it back on the road using parts and accessories all – like the car itself – purchased through the auction site.
The aim is to illustrate that even with modern automotive technology, it’s still possible to do this yourself, for less than the cost of buying a pristine example – not least now that eBay offers “Certified Recycled” parts from vetted sellers.
“It’s something an enthusiast could do themselves at home,” explains White. “We hope by doing this that we can show that it’s not impossible to do this yourself. That’s why we chose the Subaru – it’s the kind of car an enthusiast on a budget might want to choose.
“In fact, we tried to find a Toyota GT86 at first, as we run two of them as race cars on our events, and we have the knowledge and spares for them. But in the end, the Subaru – which is mostly identical – was what came up.”
With this done, the charity will move on to the second phase of the project: converting the car to track specification, complete with hand controls and a safety cage that allows access to paraplegic drivers.
“With this car, we can go further. It will allow many of our beneficiaries to get behind the wheel. But furthermore, it’ll be an FIA-compliant race car, which will mean we can enter it at Race of Remembrance, our annual 12-hour endurance event on Remembrance Weekend, with a team of wheelchair users driving it.”
It feels trite to point it out, but there’s a poetic symbiosis going on here; these guys are rebuilding this car and, almost in return, it is helping them to rebuild their lives.
And they are just a select few of the thousands of people the charity has helped so far – there are many more to come, too, as a newer charity, Mission Automotive, branches out into the automotive industry, not only helping its beneficiaries to build careers but working with employers to create better hiring practices and improve their understanding of ex-Forces personnel.
This is work that benefits people who have sacrificed so much in order to defend our country and our way of life, and yet who often fall between the cracks between the responsibilities of the various institutions between whom they are passed. Mission Motorsport exists to pick them up, dust them down and help them to find their way again.
I feel passionate about the importance of that work. And that’s why I’ve decided to get involved.
In 2020, during the pandemic, Mission Motorsport was unable to stage its Race of Remembrance. Instead, it urged people to attempt their own endurance challenges, raising money for the charity along the way.
I decided back then that my contribution would be to undertake a long-distance walking event – perhaps even to walk all the way to the Race of Remembrance, whenever it might next take place.
It took a while to pluck up the courage to commit to it – after all, I am hardly the picture of athleticism and fitness; building the stamina to be able to walk that many miles, day in, day out, was daunting.
But last year, I started training – and this year, on the race’s 10th anniversary, I’m finally doing that walk. In October, on foot, I’ll leave the buildings in rural Oxfordshire in which the Mission Motorsport Subaru now sits, with the aim of joining it on Remembrance Weekend, on Anglesey, more than 250 miles away.
I’m still not entirely confident that I’ll make it but I’ll try my best. It’s the least I can do to help this remarkable charity.
And I’m asking for your help to make my walk worthwhile. If you’re impressed by Mission Motorsport’s work, or you just enjoy the features and reviews in Telegraph Cars, you can lend your support: simply visit justgiving.com/page/alexwalks and donate. Any amount, no matter how small, will be gratefully received.
I’ll be publishing regular updates on my walk when it gets under way. Until then, you’ll be able to see the Subaru track car on the Mission Motorsport stand at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it receives its official unveiling.
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