Spinal Network News - August 2017

WHEELCHAIR USERS CAN ENJOY AN
ADRENALINE-PUMPING RACE CAR EXPERIENCE
While on one of my Connecting People trips around
the South Island, I met up with the Wanaka crew at the
Retro Diner in the Warbirds and Wheels Museum for
our get-together. One of the guys suggested that I call
into Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell, and ask
about fitting out one of their track cars with handcontrols
that people with disabilities could use.
I met Kynan, the Operations Manager, and asked him
if they would consider this. He came out and had a
look at my controls and said: Yeah, I think we can do
that. About a month later, he contacted me to ask how
they would go about this. So, thinking cap on, and a
few questions with the assessment people at Aotearoa
Driving Academy —they suggested a push-pull system
and to contact Craig Gardiner from Vehicle Adaptions
Ltd. in Belfast, Christchurch, for more advice. Craig
gave me a couple of controls and, off I went to a racemeeting
at Highlands to meet up with Kynan. He and
the mechanic had a look and said they would like to fit
it them themselves. What’s the next step?" Highlands
asked. I caught up with Craig again, and he got some
parts together. A week later, while he was on holiday
down at Cromwell, he showed Highlands what was
required.
Two months later, I got a call to go down and try them
out. Well, enough said. I jumped in my mate's Merc,
and we drove down to give it a go. It was much easier
to drive than I thought. I did think the steering would
be heavier, and the car harder to control. It was just like
driving a car on the road—only a bit noisier, a bit faster,
and with a lot more braking power. It really was a great
adrenaline rush. Driving fast on a track is such an intense
experience for someone who has never done it before.
Josie, the Chief Operations Manager at Highlands, got
hold of a friend at TV1 News, and I was asked to go
down with some other people in wheelchairs to give it a
go. Everyone found it a great experience and we were
all featured on TV1 News later that week.
If you’re heading down that way, do check out Highlands
Motorsport Park—it’s an incredible facility!
www.highlands.co.nz
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