Life, they say, is hard but little does it matter in reality, men have chosen to show more severity in order to draw lots from the fate that life throws at them and move on. This is exactly the case of British runner Billy Monger who, faced with the harshness of life, chose to be the best he could be. He thus succeeded in inspiring many others in situations similar to his.
Prior to his professional career in British F4 in 2016, Billy was a kart racer all over the UK and the Channel Islands, as well as a successful Ginetta Junior racer. As a professional racer he was nicknamed ‘ Billy the Whiz’. In 2016 he joined the F4 British Championship and finished twelfth. He was determined to double his efforts in the following year’s championship, before the tragedy struck him at Donington Park in April 2017.
Against all odds, Billy has proven that his zeal for driving surpasses the challenges life has thrown at him. Below is everything you need to know about the amputee racing driver.
Who is Billy Monger?
Billy Monger was born in a town called Charwood on May 5, 1999 in Surrey, United Kingdom. Passionate about cars and racing, he was growing up and his father, a former kart racer, bought him his first kart when he was three years old. He practiced karting until the age of six when he joined the karting circuit.
He raced karts all over the UK and the Channel Islands and was also a successful Ginetta Junior racer. In 2016 he joined the British F4 Championship with JHR Developments; Billy Monger took part in three podiums finishing 12th in the championship and was nicknamed Billy The Whiz.
What happened to him in the Donington Park crash?
Billy Monger remained with JDH Developments for the following season (2017). While running at Donington Park on that fateful day in April 2017, Billy was involved in a high-speed accident which affected his lower body and resulted in the amputation of both of his legs.
To support and help raise funds for his JHR Developments set up a JustGiving page and were able to raise over £500,000 in less than 24 hours. F1 drivers such as Nico Hulkenberg, Lewis Hamilton, Jolyon Palmer, Max Verstappen, Jenson Button and Daniel Ricciardo all rallied behind him and showed their support as well.
Just when many thought the Donington Park incident would mark the end of Billy Monger’s career, the young star’s return has been announced. Just two months after the accident, Billy announced he would be going behind the wheels in November of that year. To facilitate his race, he shared a Group CN Ligier JS53 Evo 2-Honda with quadruple amputee, Frédéric Sausset, during a round of the Challenge V de V Endurance Proto at Estoril Autodrome, Portugal. This was part of a plan to field a team of three disabled drivers in the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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In July of that year, Monger was back on the trail with a padded Volkswagen Beetle Fun Cup with additional hand controls at Brands Hatch. In 2018, Billy joined the Carlin team. In February he drove a single-seater racing car for the first time since crashing for Team Carlin at Oulton Park in a British Formula 3 BRDC car. This happened after his family asked the International Automobile Federation to change the rule prohibiting disabled drivers from racing single-seaters for safety reasons.
The FIA forced and lifted the ban in December 2017, allowing disabled drivers to compete in appropriately modified single-seater races provided they pass safety checks. In June 2018, he experienced a Formula 1 racing car for the first time: a Sauber C30 built by Tour-De-Force Power Engineering for Heritage F1 at Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby. The car is an upgrade of the BRDC Carlin British Formula 3 car he used.
With his specialist vehicle which came with its clutch, gearshift and accelerator placed on the steering wheels, Billy took part in 23 races in 2018, although he did not win any, he finished sixth in the British BRDC Championship of Formula 3. Driver and sincerely, we wish him the best.