“Beyond Injury, Achieving the extraordinary” is the motto of the Race2Recovery team.
Conceived in 2010 when two IED injured soldiers met at Headley Court Recovery Centre and decided that racing was to help them move forward with their recovery process and next steps in life, Race2Recovery is a predominantly disabled rally team, manned by a team of volunteers, racing to inspire those who are injured, disabled or facing adversity, by competing in the Dakar Rally in South America during January 2014. Those members of team that have been wounded in combat have a huge variety of injuries; some have injuries that are more apparent than others, but each person has had their life completely changed. Be it missing limbs, spinal and respiratory injuries, to psychological and fragmentation injuries, each has resolved to prove that their injury will not stop them completing the toughest race on the planet.
2013 saw the Race2Recovery team become the first team including an amputee to start and finish the Dakar rally in its history. For 2014, Dakar Rally organisers have deliberated made the already formidable and sometimes deadly rally more difficult. The Dakar Rally Raid typically covers over 10,000km in 15 days through Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. With typical speeds of between 70-120mph and up to 1000km covered per day through some of the most arduous terrain on the planet the stress and strain on the driving team, vehicle and the mechanics is beyond comprehension. The wounded soldiers hope that the teamwork, sense of humour and experience of sleep deprivation built up during their time in the military will give them an edge over the other more experienced teams in this event.
Evening bulletins are provided by British Eurosport daily at 10pm.
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