Paraplegic racing driver set for epic 2024 season thanks to sponsorship support from the Motability Scheme, the UK leader in disability motoring
Motability Scheme customer, Noah Cosby is preparing to take on the 2024 racing season with Team BRIT – the world’s only competitive team of all-disabled racing drivers – thanks to a partnership with the Scheme that launched today (Tuesday 23 January 2024).
The Motability Scheme has joined up with Team BRIT to support their mission to provide a level playing field for disabled drivers. The partnership will also directly support the team’s youngest driver, 19-year-old Noah Cosby from Towcester.
Having joined the team in 2023 for his rookie year, Noah is now being supported through the new partnership which will enable him to complete a full season in the Britcar Trophy – moving him up the ladder of motorsport and onward in his racing dream. Around half of Team BRIT’s drivers are customers of the Motability Scheme which helps disabled people to get mobile by leasing a car, scooter or powered wheelchair with a worry-free package of insurance, servicing and breakdown cover included.
Three years ago, Noah was on his way towards a career as a motocross freestyler when he misjudged a jump, breaking his back in the fall. He spent seven weeks in John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, following an operation in which 2 metal bars and 9 screws were attached to his spine to hold it into place. The impact of the fall had broken his spine at T6 and caused his spinal cord to stretch. Noah is now paralysed from the waist down.
In 2023, he signed for Team BRIT, which has created innovative hand control technology to enable disabled drivers to compete on equal terms with able-bodied drivers. Last year, Noah obtained his race licence and competed in the Citroen C1 Series, learning more about the sport and honing his skills.
Now, thanks to the partnership with the Motability Scheme, Noah will move up to the Britcar Trophy Championship, driving a BMW M240i with his teammate Asha Silva, also from Northampton. The Motability Scheme is also supporting the wider team, which will see two new rookies compete in a BMW 1 Series, and more experienced racers driving a McLaren 570S GT4 in the British Endurance Championship.
Noah said: “It’s hard to put into words how grateful I am for the belief and support of the team at the Motability Scheme. Their backing is enabling me to take the next step on my motorsport journey, which started so brilliantly with Team BRIT last year. It’s the perfect partnership – I have an adapted vehicle which I lease through the Scheme myself using my mobility allowance, as do many of my teammates, and the Motability Scheme is all about getting disabled people out, independent and active – an ethos at the heart of our team.
“I learned so much driving the C1, but I’m really excited to be taking on a new championship in a much more powerful car this year. Our races will also be on the same weekend as our teammates in the British Endurance Championship, so being part of the whole weekend of racing will be fantastic.
“Asha and I worked really well together in the C1 Series and she has such potential as a driver so I’m actually quite confident about the performances we’ll be putting in this year.”
Lisa Witherington, Managing Director of Customer Services at Motability Operations, the company that delivers the Scheme, said: “We are immensely proud to partner with Team BRIT and to support their youngest driver and Motability Scheme customer, Noah Cosby. We believe in Team BRIT’s mission to level the playing field for disabled people both in motorsport and beyond and our support will help them to achieve their aims.
"The Motability Scheme helps over 700,000 disabled people and their families access independent mobility which means they can live their life on their own terms and fulfil their dreams. We're all looking forward to watching Noah’s career with Team BRIT develop and supporting him to achieve his ambitions in motorsport."
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Notes to editors
More information on Team BRIT can be found at www.teambrit.co.uk.
Information about Motability Scheme can be found at www.motability.co.uk. Information about Motability Operations, the company that delivers the Motability Scheme, can be found at www.motabilityoperations.co.uk.
About Motability Operations
We are the commercial company that delivers the Motability Scheme to over 700,000 disabled people and their families, helping them access independent mobility.
Since we began running the Motability Scheme 45 years ago, we have helped more than 5 million people get moving. People who receive higher or enhanced mobility allowance can join the scheme. They decide to use their allowance to choose from a wide range of cars, wheelchair accessible vehicles, powered wheelchairs or scooters.
Our scale and relationship with manufacturers makes sure we provide the very best technology and design.
Customers lease their vehicle for 3-5 years in a worry-free package that includes insurance, servicing, tyres and breakdown cover. At the end of the lease they can choose a brand-new vehicle and we remarket their old vehicle at the best possible price. We are the largest supplier of used cars in the UK.
We don’t pay shareholder dividends and the money we make is invested back into benefitting our customers and disabled mobility.
We pride ourselves on knowing and understanding our customers and have expectational customer service at the heart of everything we do. We have an average of 9.6/10 customer satisfaction rating.
With around half of the Team BRIT drivers being customers of the Motability Scheme, it’s hoped that the partnership will help raise awareness about the Motability Scheme and it’s worry-free package amongst those who are yet to experience the benefits of independent mobility.
About Team BRIT
Team BRIT is the world’s only competitive team of all-disabled racing drivers.
Its vision is to support, inspire and motivate people facing physical and psychological challenges by demonstrating what can be achieved through motorsport.
By developing the world’s most advanced racing hand control technology, the team has created a level playing field for disabled drivers in motorsport – something no other sport can offer.
More information at www.teambrit.co.uk