May 2005 Issue of the

Disabled Motorist

Disabled Motorist is the monthly magazine of the Disabled Drivers' Motor Club. It's packed with useful and interesting information and it campaigns on the issues that affect you - whether you are a driver, passenger, or carer for a disabled child. Here, on our growing web site, is a small selection. If you would like to join the 20,000 people who receive a regular copy, please visit the Club membership page .

Various news and information

A shock . . . but only a hiccup

Aixam adds petrol to range

Still part of the action

As Motorsport Endeavour gears up for its first major event, founder member Steve Tarrant tells Sally Oldaker how the loss of a limb in a racing tragedy hasn’t stopped him enjoying his great love – marshalling.

In June 2000, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, a 1968 Lotus F1 car left the track, smashed through a marshals' post and hit a tree, killing its driver John Dawson- Damer. One marshal, Andy Carpenter, died later in hospital, while his colleague Steve Tarrant was so badly injured that he almost became the third fatality.
But less than five years later, Steve is back in his beloved voluntary job, despite the loss of his right leg, and has even made a return visit to the scene of the accident – a testament to his great determination that disabilities should not prevent anyone from participating in motorsport.
However, in the aftermath of the Goodwood crash, no one knew whether or not Steve would live, let alone return to the track. He had been thrown almost ten feet into some trees by the impact (“Thankfully I can't remember anything about it,”); his leg was severed at the scene and could not be saved, and he also had a shattered left leg as well as head and abdominal injuries.
Steve was taken to Charing Cross Hospital where he nearly died on four occasions, contracting gangrene and septicaemia which led to the amputation at his right knee.
He underwent plastic and reconstructive surgery, including shoulder muscle being used in his left leg for regrowth, and had to have 12 inches of his lower bowel removed.
Eventually, after physiotherapy and being fitted with a “training leg”, he was transferred to his home hospital at Poole. There was still a long way to go in the recovery process, but, says Steve: “The weekend before the transfer, I attended the Goodwood Revival event. I found I had the nerve to face a track and racing cars again.”
Steve was very determined to walk again as soon as possible. At Poole he was given a new leg and managed to walk 40 metres straight away, though there were a series of complications and he still had a metal frame supporting his left leg.
Amazingly, he and wife Jackie, who had always shared his lifelong love of motorsport and marshalling, were able to take a holiday in South Africa in early 2001, less than a year after the accident.
“We ended up going to the Kyalami race track, where I'd marshalled previously, and I was able to do some flag marshalling from my wheelchair!” Steve says. They also attended the Africa Moto GP.
Back in Britain, Steve underwent psychological counselling to deal with the mental effects of the accident and its tragic consequences. The death of his friend and colleague Andy Carpenter had been particularly hard to come to terms with, and on the anniversary of the tragedy, Steve returned to the Goodwood Festival to lay a wreath at the finish line.
Steve had his marshal's licence upgraded so that he could be an administration clerk in Race Control at the event, and a surprise had been arranged for him – being driven round the course in a Renault Clio V6 by none other than F1 star Jenson Button.
“Fantastic!” was Steve's comment. “I now have the ultimate happy memory from the Goodwood Festival.”
Although he was slowly getting back into the world of motorsport, Steve had continuing health problems and was forced to spend three months in a wheelchair
after difficulties with an updated prosthetic leg.
Jackie also suffered with depression.“People don't realise how hard it is for the families of disabled people as well as the person with the disability,” Steve points out. He received many emails of support for both him and Jackie, the most precious of which was from Alex Zanardi, the racing driver who lost both legs in a
European Touring Car accident in 2001 and whom Steve would eventually get to meet in 2004.
In February 2002 Steve finally received a speciallyadapted Ford Focus through the Motability scheme, having originally been told that he did not qualify as he had
only been granted Disability Living Allowance for two years. His successful appeal, and in fact the car itself, both hit the headlines – Steve had the vehicle decorated to look like Colin McRae's World Rally Championship-winning car. “I wanted it to look totally unique!” he explains. He drove 1,000 miles in the first two weeks, and has now bought the vehicle outright.
Steve found that there were several opportunities for him to be involved in racing – in May 2002 he was able to operate the pit lane entry siren at his home circuit,
Thruxton, at a round of the British Touring Car Championship. “Of course I couldn't be right on the track like I used to, but I was still part of the action,” he reflects. He was then invited to the Mobility Roadshow at Donington Park as a guest of honour, along with his unusual car.
However, Steve experienced some discriminatory attitudes when he officiated at the Goodwood Festival that year, and also at the Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch. This is something that makes him more determined to help other disabled people get involved in motorsport, whether through driving, marshalling or spectating.
“The Motorsport Endeavour Club offers great opportunities for participation – I want disabled people to work alongside able-bodied people so that both can learn from each other,” he says. “I think there is still a social stigma to disability; the idea that you should disappear from the scene. We should challenge the boundaries of what's accepted and acceptable – disabled people are capable of lots more than people think, but we need to show it.”
Steve doesn't like decisions being made for him about what he can and cannot do, and feels he has proved his abilities to himself as well as to others by fighting to continue as a marshal. He has certainly pushed himself to the limits, not least by marshalling at the LeMans 24-hour race, an event that has always been a favourite since he attended as a spectator in younger days.
“Jackie and I were invited to LeMans in 2003, partly to see where Andy Carpenter's ashes are scattered – he was a LeMans fanatic. It was great to be back, but I felt that there was something missing,” he reflects. “I wrote directly
to the LeMans authorities to ask permission to be a full marshal there in 2004, and the Sporting Director was very happy for me to do it, with certain stipulations, of course– I wouldn't be trackside but would wave the flag from behind a barrier as well as being an extra pair of eyes.” It took Steve five days to recover from the exhausting event, but he says firmly that it was all worth it. “For eight days I lived the dream,” he says. “I had always wanted to marshal at LeMans, but after the accident I thought that dream was over. But now I can look back and say I've done it!”

This happy time was in contrast to the events leading up to it, which had seen both Steve and Jackie suffer from depression and eventually agree to divorce. The inquest into the accident had also been a difficult time. “That's partly why I so wanted to do LeMans in 2004 – I didn't want to let the year go by without having achieved something good as well!” Steve comments.
In fact, 2004 also included the long-awaited meeting with Alex Zanardi, who had returned to European Touring Cars in a modified vehicle.
The men had almost met in May 2003, when it was arranged that Zanardi could complete the distance he'd had left to race when his accident happened – there was an idea that Steve would wave the flag at the end of the course, but there was not enough time for this to be organised and Steve had to be content with watching the special race on TV.
However, in June 2004, Zanardi was due to race at Donington Park. “I pulled some strings in the motorsport fraternity and got a pass for the event, then approached
BMW's PR people to ask for a meeting,” Steve says.“And we were able to do it! We had a 15-minute chat and exchanged stories – it was a superb and very special
moment.”
Zanardi and Steve are both living proof that even severe disability doesn't have to stop you following your dreams, and through Motorsport Endeavour, Steve hopes to encourage many others to do likewise: “Whatever your disability, there are plenty of jobs to do, including things like office work or making the paddock announcements.”
Steve still suffers from problems with his left leg, and is unsure which events he will be able to do this year, but one thing is certain; he will always find a way to be
involved in motorsport.