Just a wee catch-up after all the excitement of Blyton.
You may have seen a few lads around the paddock on Saturday. Rag-tag bunch. Mainly around the MaX5 cars and the bar!
One of the guys, Chris, was determined to break the leaderboard time in the Formula 1 car simulator. He managed fourth.
Chris was blown up by an IED in Afghanistan only 8 months ago. He lost one leg below, the other above the knee.
Chris couldn’t reach the pedals so he drove the simulator one-handed, using his other to control the accelerator and brake.
Afterwards he said to me “my car has hand controls, when are you going to get cars with hand controls so I can go racing too?”
Well as I write this, Club Member, MaX5 driver and top-bloke Paul Roddison (aka Car No1 and flying-lap frightener of many over the weekend) has our car, you know, that knocked up old thing that Mazda Mender and his posse stripped in the mega-bat cave. It now looks something a bit more like a proper race car and, with the help and generosity of the other MaX5 guys, not to mention countless others (both here and over on Nutz) we will be putting our first ‘broken bloke to racing driver’ Gary Dunning onto the grid at Croft on the 21st of this month for his (and our) first race.
Would be great to see some OCers there…
And Chris will get his hand controls. I have no doubt.
See you all soon…
I saw the car today and its coming along a treat. 
Good luck for Croft.
Another few pics now that I have a minute:
A massive thank you to all those that have helped bring the MM car from a roadworthy to a raceworthy machine; you know who you are but, Wayne (Mazda-Mender) and your posse, Ross (Hornblower), all the MaX5 guys and of course Rodders, from me personally and all the MM team.
She’s done…
Now called ‘Car 51’ but a few teaser piccies…first person to see her all finished will be Gaz, her pilot next weekend at Croft Circuit as he lines her up for the MaX5 grid.
Massive, MASSIVE thank you to all the guys that donated, and to Paul @ Roddisons Recovery, without the generosity of a great many, we’d never be in a position to let Gaz loose next weekend.
Looking very nice. Good luck to Gaz
Roy,
Just thought you’d like to know that Gaz is bringing Car 52 up to Rodders when he picks up '51.
Car 52 is an auto, and will have hand controls (and be ready to race competitively) by next Spring…and from the meeting I had up at Help 4 Heroes Phoenix House today, I think many of you at Blyton will have met (who I hope) to be our first double-amputee driver…
Thanks Jon.
Thankyou from everyone for taking the time on keeping us up to date. Love to know how its all going
Those around Look North TV area will see Mission Motorsport either Thu or Fri night on the evening news; press day at Croft Circuit Thursday morning to pre-record footage, then follow up pieces over the weekend…
Looks like we’ll have to do the planned PR shots inside on Wed evening, weather forecast up here looks horrid!!!
Anyone at a loose end on Thursday is welcome to come along to Croft, not an open track, just a look-see, meet some of the personnel from Help for Heroes Phoenix House Recovery Centre at Catterick and a few MaX5 drivers that have managed to get out of work for the day.
It’s difficult to advertise another MX-5 forum on here without hitting an obvious conflict of interest but there’s been an awful lot of work going on elsewhere to ensure Car 51 makes the grid Saturday and we’re all very grateful to everyone that has helped (knowing full well that many sit on this side of the fence as well as the other).
Mods, if you feel the need to remove the link I understand 
Thank you all.
Early one from me:
Car’s here:
Another massive Thank You to all that have got us to this point, if you live up this way, we’re on Look North and ITV Tees tonight, Northern Echo, local BBC radio and Catterick Garrison Radio ‘Army FM’ all weekend as they foolow Gaz and his quest…
It gets better Roy…
Press day at Croft today, just home, pizza ordered, time for some piccies…
If you like the piccies have a look at www.tonytodd.co.uk he’s the Croft Circuit official photographer and these are his handywork.
fantastic pictures there Jon. That Tony’s aint bad either 
Love it
And a quick couple grabbed between showers this afternoon:
At first i thought that was the Stig. Then realized it was M I S S I O N Man
And you’ll be glad to here that having qualified 15th Gaz went on to enjoy a clean race witha 14th finish…not bad for afirst timer with 20 minutes in the car!!!
And, it looks like we’re now a Girl-friendly charity too, as a young lady who vivisted us today from Phoenix House looks like she’s going to join the programme…
& sorry to say I didn’t catch up with our heros at the weekend, think I saw Chris scoot past the cars as I was with Mike changing his radiator, when I turned round he was gone, maybe I should have tightened his brakes so I could catch him 
