Monger faces challenging racing return
BILLY MONGER MIGHT BE CLOSING on his racing return, but securing a seat is just one obstacle the double amputee has to overcome as he bids to resume his single-seater career.
The 18-year-old says he is not “too far away” from completing a deal to race in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with Carlin this year after beginning a testing programme with the team. But along with securing the final sponsorship he needs to occupy the seat, he is having to learn a new way of driving in a specially adapted car, and will face scrutiny over whether his arrangements confer an advantage.
Monger suffering amputations to both of his legs following a horrific British F4 crash at Donington Park last April.
“I’m doing more testing than I would’ve done if I hadn’t had my accident in terms of figuring out the controls,” said Monger. “I’m braking with my [prosthetic] leg still and the rest is on the steering wheel.
“The one thing that has really moved place is the throttle, which is now on the left side of the wheel. Then on a normal car you would change [gear] up on the right side and down on the left but on mine they’re both on the same side. We’ve been working with the series to make sure all the controls work and to make sure there’s no advantage.”
Monger is certainly in the best place to make his dream of single-seater success become reality. Carlin steered dominant champion Enaam Ahmed to the title last year and Monger has been working with the team in the simulator since last July.
But just because he is with a frontrunning team does not assure Monger of glory. The British F3 line-up may not be the strongest, but Monger has spent a long time out of racing.
It is impossible to be sure where he would have finished in the British F4 standings last term; even before the accident he was struggling for budget and might not have completed the season.
But his early form suggested top three.
That would ordinarily make him a British F3 frontrunner, but considering the challenges Monger faces this season that is far from a certainty.
For the moment, Monger is relishing the opportunity to be back behind the wheel of a single-seater. “If you had told me last April that I would be testing in a British F3 car with Carlin this year, you would’ve had to pinch me,” he said. “I’m back where I want to be.”
Getting to F3 will be a major achievement, but the next chapter of Monger’s incredible story promises to be even tougher.