5 minute read
SPORT
SUBSCRIBE!SUBSCRIBE!
All Together NOW! is
Advertisement
helping and inspiring tens of thousands of people.
But the charity needs to find ways to balance the books.
You can help in a big way by becoming one of our loyal subscribers. For a suggested £20 donation (more, if you can afford it!) we will send you the next SIX editions.
DRIVING AMBITION:Aaron Morgan, left, and Bobby Trundley with the new McLaren 570S GT4 RACINGINTORACINGINTO THERECORDSTHERECORDS
NAME
ADDRESS
Please send this coupon and a cheque payable to All Together NOW! to: Subscriptions Dept., All Together NOW! The Bradbury Centre, Youens Way, Liverpool L14 2EP TEAM BRIT’s goal of making motorsport history at the Le Mans 24-hour race is moving closer as it unveils its car for 2022 – a brand new McLaren 570S GT4.
The team aims to be the first ever alldisabled team to compete in the iconic endurance race and earlier this year announced plans to enter the British GT Championship in 2022.
World-leading racing hand controls have been fitted to the car to give paraplegic driverAaron Morgan the best possible chance of victory.
Featuring fly-by-wire technology with paddles mounted behind the steering wheel for accelerator and brake, and gears controlled by rocker switches activated by the driver’s thumbs, the technology moves away from standard push/pull controls seen in adaptive cars.
This means drivers can keep both hands on the wheel at all times, in common with able-bodied competitors and removing any disadvantage.
Aaron, who broke his back in a motocross accident at the age of 15, will team up with the world’s fastest autistic racing driver, 22-year-old Bobby Trundley for the British GT in 2022.
Bobby andAaron have stunned competitors on the track this year in the Britcar Endurance Championship with multiple podiums and an overall championship finish position of 3rd in class.
Meanwhile,Andy Tucker and Luke Pound, who both sustained limb disabilities following motorbike accidents, will step up to driving the team’sAston Martin GT4 in the Britcar Endurance Championship. New rookies will begin their racing journey in the team’s bespoke-build BMWs.
Team Founder Dave Player said: “This
It’s bold but we know we will reach our goal –Le Mans 24 ‘ is a milestone moment for our team and something we have worked tirelessly to achieve. “Our plans have always been bold, ambitious and beyond belief for many, but we know we will achieve our goal of reaching Le Mans. On top of that, we are making changes to motorsport that are crucial for true accessibility. “Our entry into British GT means we’re racing in the highest level of endurance racing in the UK and the most iconic British championship. “Next year (2022) we aim to acquire our GT3 car which we will race in British GT and European Le Mans in 2023 before aiming for Le Mans in 2024. “The strength of our intent should not be underestimated. We will do this and we will make history. Our work does not end there, we’re welcoming more and more disabled drivers into motorsport through our racing academy and through entry level racing. “This is something we will continue for years to come – building a truly accessible ladder of opportunity for disabled drivers. This is the Team BRIT legacy we’re so proud to have created. ” n www.teambrit.co.uk
HEAD OF THE CUE: Tony Southern receives his award from Simon Berrisford, WDBS vice chairman RIVALS: Mohammed Faisal Butt andAlan Reynolds
Snooker is hot po ace t su Tony per
LIVERPOOL’s snooker king Tony Southern clinched his fourth World Disability Billiards and Snooker title at Hazel Grove, Stockport.
Southern defeated 2019 champion John Teasdale (Lancaster) 3-0 in a deceptively close final to clinch gold in the combined Groups 2+3 tournament.
Previously a winner of the Belgian Open and UK Championship, Southern did not drop a frame during his five matches as he made it back-to-back titles on the circuit for the first time following success in Bruges last March.
The Stockport Open was the first WDBS event to be held since the onset of the pandemic.
There was also a special victory in the Group 6B category for Leroy Williams (Runcorn), who defeated first-time finalist Matthew Haslam (Runcorn) 3-1 to claim his seventh title and his first since becoming a father just five months ago.
Williams, who was also defending his title first won in 2020, made the highest overall break of the weekend with a run of 61 – his new personal best on the WDBS Tour to date.
Gold medals also went to Preston’s Mickey Chambers and Daniel Blunn (Sutton Coldfield).Chambers was maintaining his incredible unbeaten run in Group 5 by claiming his seventh WDBS title following a 3-0 success over Dean Simmons (Boston).
Since his 2018 debut at his home tournament in Preston, Chambers is yet to taste defeat on the regular WDBS circuit, losing only to Blunn at the invitational Tour Championship at the Crucible Theatre in 2019.
Blunn, meanwhile, made it a recordextending 12th WDBS success and his second at Hazel Grove, as he defeated David Church 3-1 to win the Group 4 tournament. He lost just two frames during the tournament, while opponent Church had the consolation of having equalled his personal highest WDBS break of 52, previously made three years ago in Northampton.
There was a new champion crowned in Group 6Aas Scotland’sAlan Reynolds claimed gold on debut following a 3-1 win over defending champion Mohammed Faisal Butt.
Paired within the same round robin group, it was Butt who won their initial meeting as both progressed to the semi-finals, but Dunfermline’s Reynolds gained swift revenge on his way to the title.
Finally, there was victory for Peter Geronimo (London) in the Challenge Cup tournament for players who had not made it through the knock-out rounds, as he defeated Steve Cartwright (Farnborough) 2-1 to claim his third WDBS gold medal. n www.wpbsa.com
