'Our presence on the track makes a difference'

Two drivers from the world's only competitive team of all-disabled racing drivers have achieved their lifelong ambition of racing on a famous European circuit.

>Northamptonshire pair Noah Cosby and Asha Silva competed for Team BRIT Racing at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

>Cosby, from Towcester, suffered a T6 spinal cord injury which left him paralysed from the ribs down, while Silva, from Kettering, was diagnosed with ADHD and adult autism.

>"Once you [start to] notice that us being on track does make a difference to other people's lives... there's nothing better than that," Cosby said.

>"It's more rewarding than taking home any trophies… it's what we do outside of the track that matters most to us."

>Speaking to Robert Constantin and Charlotte Vowden on The Motorsport Show, Cosby and Silva described competing at Spa as "surreal".

>"It's so overwhelming how grand the track is, but it is a feeling I haven't replicated anywhere else before," Cosby said.

>"It was an extremely amazing experience," Silva added.

>Cosby, who was paralysed after a freestyle motocross accident, said he "won't let injuries like this [get in the way] of the sport".

>"Turning to a different form of motorsport that I could compete at a level playing field with was the biggest thing for myself mentally to get beyond this life-changing injury," he said.

>Silva's neurodivergence means loud noises and strong scents can be overwhelming, and have caused her to pass out in the past.

>Despite it being noisy and full of fumes at a racetrack, stepping inside a race car is the only place where Silva's brain is "silenced" and "focused".

>"As soon as I get in the car, everything is switched off," she said.

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