Wokingham racing driver Bobby Trundley has finished 2023 with a championship win, returning to his karting roots.
Bobby, aged 24, who was diagnosed with severe autism as a child, is a driver for Team BRIT, which is the world’s only competitive team of all-disabled racing drivers.
When he was growing up, Bobby attended Westende Primary which he loved, before moving to Maiden Erlegh which was not so great as he suffered bullying because of his autism. It was when he went to a party at Premier Karting in Woodey that he discovered racing. He walked out of the centre at first because of sensory overload from the noise of the go-karts but the manager talked him back in. “They were brilliant,” he said. “I got behind the wheel of a go-kart and loved it then progressed from there,” said Bobby.
He began his love of motorsport in karting at the age of 10, after he found it to have a profound impact on the way he manages the challenges of autism. He was a five-time national karting champion before joining Team BRIT in 2019 and has finished 2023 with a return to his karting roots, winning the Daytona Motorsport Superchamps Championship held at Sandown Park in Surrey.
For the rest of this year, Bobby has driven for Team BRIT in a McLaren 570S GT4, pairing up with his teammate Aaron Morgan, who is a paraplegic following a motocross accident. Bobby and Aaron’s Mclaren is fitted with the team’s world-leading hand controls which enable Aaron to drive with Bobby and on equal terms with his competitors.
The pair began the season competing in the British GT Championship, before moving over to the inaugural McLaren Trophy Series Europe, racing at iconic circuits across Europe.
Highlights of Bobby’s year include taking a class win at Nurburgring in Germany, competing at Spa Francorchamps as part of the 24 hour race weekend, which involved taking part in the parade through the town, and putting the pair on pole with a five-second gap when qualifying. He also received the ’driver of the day’ award when driving in the Britcar Championship in a special six-hour race with other Team BRIT teammates, in which they finished P2 overall and P2 in class.
Next year, Bobby and Aaron will once again be in the McLaren, this time competing in the British Endurance Championship where they will be fighting for an all-out championship win.
Bobby said: “It’s been an incredible year with some amazing highs and some challenging lows. When I look back at where we’ve been and what we’ve achieved, I just can’t believe it. Growing up, my autism was always something that made life so difficult, and of course it still can, but it has opened this amazing door for me into a dream I didn’t ever think I’d be able to follow.”
Bobby said his parents have always been very supportive of his love of motorsport. “At first it started as a hobby but it quickly moved up to the next level and they were great.”
Bobby enjoys the travelling that has come with his success having not only been to Germany but Nice and Belgium and is hoping to do pre-season testing in the Algarve in Portugal in February before the start of the new season at the end of March.
“I cannot wait to get back on the track later this year. The off-season is always frustrating as all we want to do is start racing again. Aaron and I are so looking forward to being back racing in the UK for the British Endurance Championship and will be giving it everything for a championship podium.”
Bobby, who also works for BT, still lives I the family home in Easthampstead Road in Wokingham but is also now supported by his girlfriend of seven months, Carys Bailey, who he met through racing.
And he added: “A huge thank you to my friends, family and sponsors for helping me have such a brilliant year.”