INSPIRATION FROM THE DEFIANCE OF DISABILITY
Wayne Rainey’s heroic return to riding one of his 500cc GP bikes at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, 29 years after the crash that ended his career, is the kind of disability defiance that will hopefully inspire others facing similar challenges, like Indycar boss and ex-racer
Sam Schmidt’s run up the hill in the SAM car last year did.
The Semi-autonomous Mobility car (hence SAM) was developed with Arrow Electronics, which converted a 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray to be used by drivers who have no use of their arms and legs.
After a horrendous Indycar testing crash in Florida in 2000, Schmidt was left a quadriplegic – although he was lucky to have survived at all, such was the severity of the accident.
Another to be inspired by the late Sir Frank Williams, Schmidt went on to form his own team in Indy Lights and Indycar.
It was his work with Arrow that led him back behind the wheel. While Rainey’s 500cc Yamaha adaptations for his injuries are relatively simple, Arrow developed a system where a car can be controlled by tube sensor – Schmidt inhales and exhales to accelerate and brake, while special glasses allow him to steer based on his head movements. The car made its public debut at Indianapolis in 2014.
The technology allowed
Schmidt to compete at the
Pikes Peak Hill Climb in 2016, finishing around six minutes behind an able-bodied driver in a conventional car.
But the application of this technology goes far above Schmidt’s own “natural racer’s” desire to go fast: “Racing’s a very selfish sport, and ironically what’s happened as a result of this project is the ability to show people what is possible if they put their mind to it and they work hard,” he said last year. “And then our [Sam Schmidt Paralysis] foundation is really driven to put people back to work and take down the barriers to enjoying their life.”