Inspirational Monger gets back on track

HE describes it as surreal and it must have been. Just twelve months before the young man was fighting for his life following a horror crash at Donnington Park, while racing in Formula 4.

When he came to he was confronted by the news that he was now a double amputee. News that would have – we’ve got to imagine – crushed most of the rest of us, news that would have sent us into a spiral of self pity and doubt.

At seventeen years of age Billy Monger reacted in exactly the opposite way. He was remarkably positive from the get-go and admirably determined not to let his accident define him. His career wasn’t over, merely delayed for a time.

Last weekend he took to track again, this time in British Formula 3 – the breeding ground for generations of Formula 1 stars (Senna, Häkkinen, Stewart) – in a modified Tatuus Cosworth car. The car has a throttle on the steering wheel and a single pedal for breaking.

To just get to that point, to the point where he could drive a car was a remarkable story in and of itself, but Monger not only got back on track, he proved competitive. He qualified in fifth position, raced brilliantly and bagged himself a podium finish on his F3 debut.

Walking with his prosthetics to the podium to collect his trophy must have been an incredibly proud moment for the young man and his family, just as it was an inspiration to the rest of us.