Caterham will extend its partnership with the Forces’ motorsport charity Mission Motorsport in 2014 to its Caterham Academy series.
Injured serviceman Major Steve McCulley RM will take part in the Academy, taking him through the process of gaining his race license and competing in his first full season of competition.
“As with most blokes, I’ve always thought I could be a racing driver; however, the reality is probably not,” said Major McCulley. “That said, Mission Motorsport and Caterham are going to give me that opportunity by racing in the Academy. By the end of this year, I will know whether or not I can drive a car consistently fast around a track. If not, the journey will still have been incredible. I will have met new friends, I will have learnt a lot about myself, as well as the motorsport industry and I have no doubt it will be therapeutic for me.”
Major McCulley, a Marine from Hampshire, took delivery of his 125bhp, road-legal Caterham Seven Academy car on Monday, March 17 at the Mission Motorsport workshop in Oxon.
Major McCulley was injured by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Afghanistan in 2011, and spend three weeks in a medically-induced coma. After starting rehab, Major McCulley needed major surgery in August 2012, losing 80% of his right lung but also removing 15 pieces of shrapnel from his chest cavity.
Mission Motorsport is a charity designed to aid the recovery and rehabilitation of those affected in service, such as Major McCulley, and already has a partnership with the Caterham F1 Team, which provides work placements for injured service personnel.
“We’re delighted to welcome Major McCulley to the Academy and to be working closer with Mission Motorsport,” said Caterham Cars’ Chief Motorsport and Technical Officer, Simon Lambert. “The charity is an extremely important organisation for those affected by military service and I’m really pleased that the Academy, as well as being one of the most prolific creators of new racing drivers in the world, can provide direction for injured servicemen like Steve to channel their energies as part of their recovery.”
