Army vet amputee defies odds to become competitive race car driver

By James Gamble

A British Army veteran has credited a motorcycle accident that led to him losing his leg with helping him achieve his dream of becoming a racing car driver.

Paul Fullick lost his right leg following an accident in 2021 but admitted the tragedy had allowed him to take to the track in a specially modified car.

The 43-year-old from Southampton, Hants, said he feels "lucky" to compete in races against able-bodied drivers with Team BRIT - the world's only competitive team of all-disabled racing drivers.

Fullick also says he has "no regrets" about his accident after embracing the positive outcomes it led to.

After losing his right leg in the 2021 accident, wheelchair user Mr Fullick incredibly found himself behind the wheel of a test car within weeks.

"I was a motorcycle racer before my accident," he said. "Most people who race dream about car racing, but it's normally very out of reach unless you start at a very early age.

"You get to the point where you feel you have missed the boat."

Fullick, who left the army after suffering a brain injury from a diving accident in Egypt, was later involved in a "nasty" road accident on his motorcycle in 2021.

After several attempts to save his right leg, surgeons decided they would have to amputate.

However, a friend told Fullick - who was keen to embrace the positives of his accident - about Team BRIT, a racing team for disabled drivers.

After contacting the team, Fullick was amazingly behind the wheel of a test car just three weeks after losing his leg.

"I was desperate to go back to motorcycle racing but my surgeon wasn't keen for me to go back to it," he continued. "I had a friend in the Army who said they knew this company, Team BRIT.

"Three weeks after my leg came off, I was trialling one of their test cars at Brands Hatch in Kent - not long after my accident.

"I wanted to get straight back and push on. It was a really good result for me. It allowed me to focus on that as part of my recovery."

Fullick added that if it wasn't for his amputation, he likely wouldn't have gone into car racing.

He admits he's grateful for the opportunity his accident led to, saying: "If you know how to look for the positives in the cards you're dealt, you can make things happen.

"I've ended up being very happy with the situation I've found myself in.

"Helping to inspire others is another part of it. I wouldn't have been able to do any of this if it was not for that fateful day.

"There's no regret there at all. In things like this, if you treat everything as a positive, good stuff will come from it."

Fullick, who drives a modified McLaren 570S GT4 - with hand controls for his accelerator, brakes and gears and a top speed of over 200mph (320kmh) - is preparing for the start of his fourth Britcar Endurance Championship season this weekend at Silverstone.

He recalled a funny incident that happened during a previous race when a marshal had no idea he was an amputee and, following a crash, thought he'd lost his leg there and then.

"Looking back, it was very funny," Fullick, who served six years in the Army, admits. "It was my first big crash… I was going for a gap I thought I could get through, but I spun out.

"The poor female marshal who opened the door of my car didn't know I was an amputee and thought I had lost my leg.

"She panicked and I panicked… I think it was terrifying for her. I'm in a crash helmet with a balaclava on, so it was hard for me to explain what was going on."

Team BRIT, who began life as a team solely for disabled ex-servicemen and women before branching out, compete against able-bodied racing teams and also takes on drivers with developmental disabilities such as autism.

The team's long-term goal is to become the first-ever all-disabled team to race in the famous Le Mans 24-hour endurance race in France, widely regarded as the world's best-known car race.