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Here's proof that everyone can experience racetrack thrills

Canadian racer Rick Bye shows how it's possible to make the most with a racetrack and fast cars

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Four cars — a Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, a Porsche Cayman and two 911s, one finished in a bright turquoise — were lined up outside Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s Driver Development Track. As the morning overcast and threat of rain gave way to sunshine, this likely would have been an ordinary day of spirited driving around one of Canada’s best-known raceways.

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“That was awesome!” Robert Hampson, 22, exclaimed as he stepped out of the Lancer Ralliart with an ear-to-ear smile. Regardless of how you slice it, Hampson’s first time behind the wheel of a car — let alone lapping a racetrack — was a runaway success. Especially considering he is blind.

“For the first time of my life, I was driving rather than being driven around,” Hampson said, who was joined by his family and his adorable guide dog, Spokane.

Hampson was one of the 20 participants in an event called the Performance Driving Experience. Hosted by esteemed Canadian racer Rick Bye and a local Toronto-based personal injury law firm, Bye’s event allowed those challenged by disabilities to experience the thrills of speed and driving around a race track.

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Seasoned Canadian racer Rick Bye, left, gives Robert Hampson, right, a few pointers before he ventures onto the track for the first time.
Seasoned Canadian racer Rick Bye, left, gives Robert Hampson, right, a few pointers before he ventures onto the track for the first time.

“I’ve spent my life doing this and it’s so rewarding and so nice to be able to offer it to these souls who maybe missed the opportunity or maybe never would’ve had the opportunity in the first place,” Bye says.

Much like many of the participants, Bye himself is no stranger to adversity. In 1998, he was involved in a serious highway collision while driving to that year’s 24 Hours of Daytona race, leaving him in a coma and with serious brain injuries. Despite the slim chance of survival, Bye recovered and not only became one of Canada’s top racing instructors, but also went on to work for Porsche Canada and participate in the Targa Newfoundland race every year since its inception in 2002.

“I’ve been a professional race driver for many years, and I’ve come to the conclusion that if you’re mentally in the right place, you don’t really need to be physically in the right place,” he says. “The cars we drive in the Targa aren’t generating the g-forces of an Indy car, so other than the long stages … you soon get the idea of just how safe racetracks are when you drive a Targa stage where there’s trees, houses and other nasty stuff up ahead.”

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Bye is competing in this year’s Targa, and as matter of fact, it’s his own triumph in adversity, combined with his love for motorsports and history with Targa, that led him to Brian Donato, his teammate. Their team name? Roll With It Racing.

Rick Bye and his teammate, Brian Donato, will be competing in this year’s Targa Newfoundland in this Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart equipped with hand controls.
Rick Bye and his teammate, Brian Donato, will be competing in this year’s Targa Newfoundland in this Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart equipped with hand controls.

“One of the caregivers that was helping me through that era called me up two years ago and said she was working with a paraplegic fellow, and that one of his dreams was to drive in the Targa Newfoundland,” he says. “Because I’m a bit of a control freak, I didn’t know anyone that could help better than I could, so I jumped in and this is where we are.”

Donato, who also made it out to the Performance Driving Experience, suffered testing obstacles of his own. While cutting down a tree in his yard three years ago, it fell and severed his spinal cord. What it did not do is dampen his spirits and outlook — last year, Donato completed a driving school, a navigation school, a prologue and one day of racing at the Targa Newfoundland in an automatic Porsche Boxster equipped with hand controls.

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“It was unbelievable. I mean, first of all, the people of Newfoundland are fantastic,” he says. “And you can just imagine driving down the streets as fast as you can. It’s an unbelievable experience.”

This year, Donato and Bye are competing in Targa with a 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, on loan from the automaker’s Canadian arm. The turbocharged and all-wheel-drive compact sedan is a significant departure from last year’s Boxster, but the two cars do share one similarity — they are both outfitted with hand controls, which effectively allow Donato ample seat time.

Of all the cars, the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart attracted the most attention with Robert Hampson behind the wheel.
Of all the cars, the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart attracted the most attention with Robert Hampson behind the wheel.

It might not have sounded as distinctive as the Porsches also at the day’s driving experience, but the Lancer Ralliart attracted the most attention. Of all the participants, Hampson likely spent the most time behind the wheel with full control over gas and brake inputs. Riding in the passenger seat, Bye guided Hampson around corners with a light grip on the steering wheel and plenty of encouragement.

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“It was really exhilarating. I got to push that pedal down to the floor, feel that wind coming through the windows and that pressure being back in the seat,” he says. “Being in control like that, I never felt a feeling like that. It’s always something new.”

Not everyone at the event could drive, but Bye ensured each participant had a fair shot at lapping CTMP’s Driver Development Track, be it in the driver’s seat or riding shotgun. He says the Performance Driving Experience started out as a “hare-brained idea”, but Bye hopes to turn it into an annual event — not only for the mile-wide smiles, but also to show the thrills of speed, and the joy and freedom of driving can be enjoyed by everyone in a safe environment and with the right outlook.

“Throughout my recovery, I found it’s very much mind-over-matter,” Bye says. “It’s about getting in the right place psychologically, and I think that it’s really, really good. It’s very therapeutic.”

Not everyone could drive, but Rick Bye and the day’s staff ensured everyone had a fair shot at experiencing the thrills of the track, whether it was from the driver or passenger seat.
Not everyone could drive, but Rick Bye and the day’s staff ensured everyone had a fair shot at experiencing the thrills of the track, whether it was from the driver or passenger seat.
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