Northamptonshire racing drivers stun at Snetterton
Two racing drivers from Northamptonshire have stunned on track, securing podium positions and a championship award.
42-year-old Asha Silva from Kettering and 21-year-old Noah Cosby from Towcester are drivers for Team BRIT, the world’s only competitive team of all-disabled racing drivers, and competed in round 6 of the Britcar Endurance Championship at Snetterton Circuit on Saturday 13th September
Asha, who is autistic, is paired up with fellow autistic racing driver, Bobby Trundley from Wokingham, driving a BMW M240i.
Noah, who is paraplegic following a motocross accident is usually paired up with 17-year-old Deaf driver, Caleb McDuff from South Wales and driving a McLaren 570S GT4. For this race, Caleb was unable to attend, so Noah teamed up with Aaron Morgan from Basingstoke, who is also a paraplegic following a motocross accident.
Noah and Aaron use the team’s innovative hand control technology to enable them to compete on equal terms with able-bodied drivers.
For Asha and Bobby, it was everything to fight for as they went into the race leading the overall championship.
The drivers took on qualifying in the morning, with Asha and Bobby qualifying 1st in their class, whilst Noah and Aaron qualified 3rd.
The pairs then took on a 90 minute race, which brought more challenge than usual thanks to the torrential rain that began as soon as the race began. For the first half of the race, rain lashed down on to the track, at one point causing a red flag stoppage due to safety concerns, and many safety flags.
Asha had the drive of her life, taking on stint 1 in the BMW. From starting 24th in the grid, she moved her way up, before handing over to Bobby who brought them home 1st in class and 4th overall. This extends their overall championship lead.
Noah was also first out for his pairing, and handled the challenging conditions fantastically. When he handed over to Aaron, he had brought them up to 1st in class and 2nd overall. Aaron performed brilliantly, holding on to the position to bring them home 2nd in the overall race and 1st in their class.
Asha was then named ‘Driver of the Day’ by championship organisers in recognition of her superb performance on the track.
Asha said: “What a weekend at Snetterton! We went into the race knowing that the pressure was on, with us holding the overall championship lead, and everything to lose. We wanted to hold on to our lead, and extend this if possible, so gave it everything from the start.
“We qualified strongly, but I then had my work cut out for me when the heavens opened just as our race began. The rain was so intense and made racing even more challenging than usual. I was really pleased to make up so many places before handing over to Bobby. He then did what he does best and flew round spectacularly, bringing us home 4th overall and 1st in class.
“To be named Driver of the Day was just the icing on the cake, and I’m incredibly proud. A huge thank you to the entire team who supported us so well and kept our car in such great shape.”
Noah said: “The second round at Snetterton this season was one for the team history book. It was packed with everything from torrential rain, safety cars and overall podiums, all leading to our strongest finish yet.
“This was my first race with Aaron ever, which was a very special moment, as it means we’ve come full circle, from Aaron introducing me to the team all those years ago, to me driving the McLaren with him and taking a win.
“However, as strong as Aaron and my drive was in the challenging conditions, our win was also determined by our No 1 mechanic and strategist Harry, who made all the right, but difficult choices to make us as competitive as possible. Choosing to pit and change to wet tyres before the rain had even fully hit on the formation lap was risky at the time, but played to our favour all the way to the end, by giving us that head start when the heavens opened.
“The result really wouldn’t have happened without such a strong team behind us. It’s truly been one of my favourite races so far, as it’s so satisfying when all the stars align to lead to such a great result.”
Noah and Asha race again at Oulton Park on Saturday 11th October.