Team BRIT begins European racing campaign

Team BRIT has announced its entry into a new, major European racing championship

Team BRIT is the only competitive alldisabled racing team in the world and has developed innovative hand control technology to enable its drivers to compete equally with able bodied drivers.

This year, its nine drivers are competing across four championships, each at different stages of their racing journeys.

In May, the team announced a change to its planned 2023 season, with an entry into the inaugural McLaren Trophy Series, Europe.

Drivers Bobby Trundley and Aaron Morgan will represent the team, moving over from the British GT Championship. The pair made history as the first ever all-disabled team to compete in the championship last year, finishing 2nd in the Pro-Am GT4 class.

Since June this year, Aaron and Bobby have been racing in McLaren’s all-new single-make championship, which will see the team compete on a global stage in 10 races across 5 race weekends, all based in Europe.

The team was forced to re-consider its 2023 season after a collision in the Silverstone 500 in British GT, resulting in extensive damage to its McLaren 570S GT4. Alongside this, the team has been driving the only McLaren 570S in the British GT line up, with all other GT4 McLaren teams driving the new ‘Artura’ model, which has proven to have a significant performance advantage.

The McLaren Trophy series offers distinct categories for teams driving the 570S, separate from those in the newer Artura.

The first round has already taken place at Paul Ricard Circuit in France. The pair secured second place in their class in both races taking place across the weekend.

Team Founder Dave Player explains; “We’re really excited about this new direction for Bobby and Aaron. We want to give them the best possible platform from which to continue to develop and grow as drivers, and for many reasons, the British GT Championship does not provide that for us this year.

“Our experience with British GT has been nothing but positive. Organisers SRO, along with all other competitors, have welcomed us with open arms, and our drivers and crew have learned an incredible amount from every race we have completed over 2022 and into 2023. We certainly intend to return and may still compete in one of the remaining rounds this year.

“Looking ahead, the McLaren Trophy offers huge opportunities for our team, our drivers and our sponsors, racing at five of Europe’s most iconic circuits, alongside the World Challenge Europe. It will be fantastic to meet so many new teams and racing organisations to demonstrate our huge progress in disability racing.

“Starting their championship campaign with a double P2 finish is brilliant – what a positive way to start the season, which will only boost their confidence going into the rest of the year.”

Aaron Morgan said: “What a weekend we had in our first McLaren Trophy Europe race! The Paul Ricard circuit is an amazing track and we were so happy to secure 2 second place finishes in our class.

“I can’t thank the crew enough – our car was flying all weekend thanks to the hard work they all put in. My team mate Bobby was awesome as ever and my sponsors CDW have been backing me all the way.

“Looking ahead, we race at Spa at the end of June, which I’m really looking forward to. Last year we had an amazing race there in the British GT Championship, winning our class and taking 3rd in the overall GT4 race, so we have lots of confidence ahead of the next round.”

Bobby Trundley said: “The McLaren Trophy will bring some exciting new challenges for us – on track, but also for me personally as I travel to new places in Europe I’ve never visited. This will be a fantastic opportunity for us to race at a high level and to introduce our team and our technology to so many new people.

“This is the first year of McLaren’s championship so it’s incredible to be a part of it and to have the chance to race at these amazing european circuits. Despite taking home 2 x P2 trophies in our first round, we’re actually disappointed we didn’t secure a win – we know we have the pace and the confidence, especially after qualifying for pole position in race 2.

“A technical issue meant we lost a lot of time, so it’s all credit to the crew who worked their hearts out to get us back in the race, and to my teammate Aaron Morgan who drove fantastically well again. Next up – Spa!”

A a r o n M o r g a n

Fr

Tr A Ck

Pau l R i ca r d France

Spa -Fr an co c h am ps Belgium

Nu r bu r g r i n g Germany

Ho ck en h ei m Germany

Ba r c el o n a Spain

32-year-old Aaron from Basingstoke was a keen motocross racer from the age of 7. He regularly took part in local race meetings and in April 2006, he had an accident whilst riding a jump on his favourite track, causing him to break his spine. He was in a coma for almost four weeks, followed by a lengthy period of recovery at the Duke of Cornwall Spinal injuries Unit in Salisbury. It was whilst in hospital that he was told he could apply for his driving licence early due to his disability, so he started heading out for driving lessons from his hospital, then returning to the ward.

In 2014, Aaron began racing as the only disabled driver in the BMW Compact Cup Championship. Having been approached by Founder and CEO of Team BRIT, Dave Player, Aaron raced the team’s Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 in the Britcar Endurance Championship in 2021. In 2022 he drove the Mclaren 570S GT4 in the British GT Championship alongside Bobby Trundley.

Bo b by Tr u n d l e y

22-year-old Bobby Trundley from Wokingham was diagnosed with autism at 4 years old and from an early age, has found motorsport to have a profound impact on the way he copes with the condition.

His passion for the sport was ignited when he first sat in a go-kart at the age of 10, and in 2011 he was awarded the Charlie Parker Memorial Trophy at Buckmore Park, as the most promising driver.

He has been awarded a wealth of trophies, including the Anna Kennedy OBE, Autism Hero Award for outstanding achievement in sport.

Bobby joined Team BRIT in 2019, racing in the BMW 118 Trophy Series where he won four out of his five races in his first ever year of car racing.

He has raced in the Britcar Championship where he took third place overall alongside Aaron in 2021, driving the team’s Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4. In 2022 he drove the Mclaren 570S GT4 in the British GT Championship.

Information on Team BRIT can be found at www.teambrit.co.uk