TITLES DON'T EXCITE me, the things that make me feel amazing are what drive me, and racing makes me feel invincible. I suppose it's cool that I'm the world's first female tetraplegic racing driver, and it was nice to get a Guinness World Record for it in 2023, but I didn't do it to be the first: I just followed something I was passionate about.
When I think about growing up, I see it as before and after I broke my neck in a car crash on 16 September 1999. I was 16 and a passenger in my friend's car. No-one did anything wrong, it was just wrong place, wrong time. Before the accident, I'd been a bit of a tearaway. I'm from Bridlington, in East Yorkshire, and used to hang around with boy racers in car parks by the beach. It was less about the hatchbacks and more about the older guys who owned them; I had a huge crush on a guy with a white Nova.
After the accident, I was the girl who broke her neck. Bridlington is a small town, it's like it happened to everyone, and I was haunted by memories of my able-bodied self. I spent 11 months in hospital, finished my A-levels and went to university in Nottingham to study English. That had been my plan and I wasn't going to let my spinal injury stop me.
I'm paralysed from the chest down with limited finger function, but Uni was a new beginning. I was 19 and the same as everyone else because we were all living away from our parents and learning to be independent.
I learned to drive when I was 20, and passed first time, which I'm really proud of. My first car was a Peugeot 206, which I had adapted. It gave me the freedom to go wherever I wanted without help, and it hid my disability, which was huge for me back then. I have a very different attitude now.
Denne historien er fra 250 - April 2024-utgaven av Octane.
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Denne historien er fra 250 - April 2024-utgaven av Octane.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Will China Change Everything? - China is tearing up modern motor manufacture but is yet to make more than a ripple in the classic car world. That could be about to change dramatically
China now dominates the automotive world in a way even Detroit in its heyday would have struggled to comprehend.Helped by Government incentives, the new car world is dominated by China's industries: whether full cars that undercut Western models by huge amounts, ownership of storied European brands such as Lotus and Volvo, or ownership and access to the vast majority of raw materials that go into EV cars, its influence is far-reaching and deep. However, this automotive enlightenment hasn't manifested itself in the classic world in any meaningful way - until now.
Jem Marsh
The hard-bitten Marcos boss was driven like few others and never knew when he was beaten. Thankfully
Vandamm House
A Mid-Century Modernist masterpiece that was immortalised on celluloid - despite never actually existing
Making light
Alfa Romeo's post-war renaissance began with the 1900 saloon - and matured with Zagato's featherweight coupé version, as Jay Harvey discovers
FULL OF EASTERN PROMISE
Is burgeoning classic car interest in the Middle East good for the global classic market? Nathan Chadwick investigates
Before the beginning
This rare Amazon Green pre-production Range Rover is Velar chassis number 4. James Elliott charts its historically revealing factory restoration
Ben Cussons
As the outgoing chairman of the Royal Automobile Club hands on to his successor, Robert Coucher quizzes him about the evolution of this great British institution
BULLDOG & THE PUPPIES
We gather five motoring masterpieces by avant-garde designer William Towns - and drive all of them
Below the tip of the Audrain iceberg
As the Audrain organisation grows, we take a look behind the scenes at the huge car collection that feeds it
Flying the Scottish flag
Young Ecurie Ecosse driver Chloe Grant gets to grips with the Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar C-type at Goodwood. Matthew Hayward is Octane's witness
