Paralympian James Whitley named 'best driver' in epic season finale

A Paralympian skier who is the grandson of former Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, James Chichester-Clark, Lord Moyola, has been named ‘driver of the day’ by championship organisers in his final race of the year for Team BRIT, whilst also securing a podium finish.

24-year-old James Whitley, who is originally from CastleDawson, and now lives in Eastbourne, drives for the team which is the world’s only competitive racing team of all-disabled drivers, and aims to become the first ever all-disabled team to race in the Le Mans 24 hour.

On Saturday 14th October, James teamed up with fellow driver Paul Fullick, who is a lower leg amputee, to drive the team’s McLaren 570S GT4 in the British Endurance Championship for the final race of the season. 

Despite unpredictable weather conditions, moving from heavy downpours to sunshine, James delivered the drive of his career in qualifying to put the pair in pole position for the start of the race.  James even finished ahead of professional drivers in faster GT3 cars.

The 2-hour race took place mid-afternoon and the start saw torrential rain and hail during James’ stint. He drove exceptionally well, handing over to Paul midway through the race, with the pair finishing 2nd in class.

At the trophy presentation, James was then named ‘driver of the day’ by race organisers for his fantastic performance throughout.

24-year-old James was born without fully formed hands and has undergone more than 30 operations to improve his hand function, many which were carried out before he was five.  At the age of six he was also involved in a serious boat accident resulted in multiple broken bones, internal bleeding and months in hospital. 

By the age of 10 was invited to join the GB Paralympian Ski Team and at thirteen he was promoted to the Senior GB Elite Squad and began skiing in World Cup events.

In 2014 at the age of 16 he was ranked number two in the World U18s and was selected to represent Great Britain at the Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Pyeongchang, and most recently in Beijing 2022 where he finished 6th overall in the giant slalom.

(Photo: Stevie Borowik)

James said: “This race weekend was truly one to remember.

“The conditions were extremely difficult, with it being too wet for dry tyres and too dry for wets. We took a real gamble that paid off in qualifying, which ended in us being one of the few GT4 cars to ever qualify in pole position.  Starting the race in pole for the first time was so exciting, if not a bit nerve wracking!

“I found my groove in the race, and got on to the dry tyres as soon as I could.  We secured a truly fantastic result thanks to everyone in the team. 

"The crew had set the car up to feel the best it has ever been and my team mate Paul did an amazing job for the second half of the race, bringing us home second in class.

“To finish off what has been a fantastic season, I also won ‘driver of the day’ for the first time. Secretly, this is one of my favourite trophies to date!  I can’t wait to get racing again next year.”

James Whitley (right) and fellow driver Paul Fullick celebrate their podium finish. (Photo: Peter Markwick)

James hopes to raise enough sponsorship to compete in the British Endurance Championship again next year, where he will push for his second championship title.

In 2022, James and his teammate Chris Overend became the first ever all-disabled team to win a national championship – the Britcar Trophy.