A young Shropshire man was treated to a thrilling ride of a lifetime experience when he had a surprise ride in a Lotus sports car at Loton Park Hill Climb, near Shrewsbury.
Tommy OCallaghan, aged 20, from Oswestry, is a student at Derwen College at Gobowen, near Oswestry, which offers specialist life skills and promotes training for employment and independent living.
The visit to Loton Park coincided with the season finale for the British Hill Climb Championship and was a surprise treat organised by regular local competitor Tim Edwards of Shawbury, in conjunction with sponsors Salop Powder Coating of Harlescott, Shrewsbury, who have recently painted the wheels on his Ford Sierra Cosworth and Subaru Impreza competition cars.
Tommy was treated to a passenger ride up the tight and demanding hill climb course in a Lotus Elise belonging to a club member and driven by Clerk of the Course, Annie Goodyear, who said: We are delighted to be able to give Tommy a taste of the pure excitement of driving up Loton Park and the lightweight and powerful open top Lotus is an ideal car in which to enjoy the experience and I think he thoroughly enjoyed the ride!
Christopher Greenough, director of Salop Powder Coating, added: Loton Park is the longest course of all the British Hill Climb venues, also being one of the best settings for this type of event by making motorsport accessible to the public. It was a pleasure to see local driver Scott Moran of Ludlow in action, who has just been crowned British Champion for the fifth time.
And it was a pleasure to be able to offer this experience to Tommy