‘I have to pinch myself – sometimes I feel like I’m in a dream,’ says award-winning autistic racing driver Bobby Trundley – who, at just 23, already has an impressive track record.
‘Motor sport has helped me in my “normal” world and it’s made me who I am today.
‘Four years ago I wouldn’t be able to talk to people in person, I’d be too shy and I wouldn’t be able to push my boundaries.’
Bobby stresses that racing has completely changed his life for the better – following a difficult childhood, growing up with autism.
The 23-year-old explains he was diagnosed with autism around the age of four and school life was particularly tough.
Bobby tells Metro.co.uk: ‘In secondary school, I got picked on quite a lot. I kept myself to myself and didn’t hang out with people or anything. Nobody seemed to understand how I worked.
‘I got bullied every day. Not physically, but a lot verbally, which obviously really wasn’t nice.
‘Kids don’t understand differences when you’re in the same age group. And for me, it was a tough time. I was also getting told by teachers “to deal with it.” Annoyingly, it all seemed to stop in Year 11 – my last year of school – because everyone started to understand me. I guess that comes with age.’
But it was when Bobby was eight years old – at a go-karting party – that his whole world changed, and he found his calling.
He says: ‘I was at the party and I ran out of the building crying because I had a sensory overload from happiness. The people who ran the kart track convinced me to come back inside while everyone was having lunch.
‘And from that moment on, when I went out on the track at the go-karting party, it just opened up my whole world.
‘I found that autism does have its positives. For an autistic person, you’re able to focus 100% on what you love to do.’
After discovering this passion, Bobby started racing at an indoor kart track. Then at the age of 15, began racing adult cars after getting a license – and went from strength to strength winning races and championships.
He explains: ‘Throughout 2015-2018, I was doing V-Max and I racked up five championships. Then, in late 2018, was the fateful moment that kicked off my car racing career.’
Bobby explains that he was taking part in a charity kart race for the Halo Project and was spotted by Formula One World Champion Damon Hill, as well as Team BRIT – the world’s only all-disabled racing team.
He was then invited to join Team BRIT in 2019, racing in the BMW 118 Trophy Series, where he won four out of his five races in his first ever year of car racing.
‘Racing, for me, is just an incredible thing. It’s a release mechanism,’ he explains.
Bobby adds he loves that racing doesn’t discriminate.
He continues: ‘When you’re out on the road, or out on a race track, it’s like you’re not in the same world. Everyone else on the track has got the same aim.
‘When you’re out on a track, it doesn’t matter if you’re disabled or not. It doesn’t matter if you’re paralysed, or you’ve got a mental disability, everyone’s trying to go around that track as fast as they can to get a result. That’s the beauty of motorsport, and that’s what Team BRIT do.’
My my autism is like a superpower because it’s like a super-computer, analysing certain situations
He also describes his autism as being a ‘superpower’ for him on the track and believes, in many ways, it sets him apart from other racers.
‘The reason I call autism a superpower is the analysation,’ Bobby adds.
‘So, in certain situations, let’s say, looking around a fast corner, a “normal” person – or person without autism – might look at the corner, and think “right, position the car on the left, there’s the apex and the inside on the right side, so I will clip that” then run the car through there thinking about that stuff. That’s what racing drivers think.
‘But I’m able to process so much information while I’m on the track. I might notice that there could be a difference in tarmac, or there could be a bit of oil on the track. I might be able to make that last-minute, split second decision just a little bit quicker, just to catch them off-guard.
‘That’s why I say my autism is a superpower – because it’s like a super-computer, analysing certain situations – working out what I need to do and how to do it as quickly as possible.
‘I feel that’s the beauty of my disability.’
Bobby’s success can also be seen through his numerous prestigious accolades over the years, including being awarded the Anna Kennedy OBE, Autism Hero Award for outstanding achievement in sport, as well as the ANCA World Autism Festival Excellence in Sport Award 2017.
This year, he also received another Anna Kennedy award, which was an Outstanding Young Person Achievement Award.
Bobby stresses that Team BRIT has been a huge factor in his success – both personally and professionally.
Through technological innovation, Team BRIT has created the world’s most advanced hand control technology – to enable disabled drivers to race competitively. Something Bobby’s paraplegic teammate, Aaron, uses.
Bobby explains: ‘He’s paralysed from the chest down. So he uses the team’s fabulous hand controls – with famous leading technology – to be able to compete on a level playing field.’
Team BRIT aims to motivate people facing physical and psychological challenges, by demonstrating what can be achieved through motorsport.
And this has certainly been the case for Bobby.
The 23-year-old adds: ‘I can’t thank the team enough. I love every single one of them. We’re all a big family. They’ve changed my life and made me more confident.
‘They’ve given me so many opportunities and have helped me develop into who I am today.’
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