A FORMER wheelchair tennis pro from Southampton has taken the title of a national motor racing championship in his debut year.

Chris Overend is a driver for Team BRIT, the world’s only competitive all-disabled racing team.

Along with his co-driver James Whitley, he has been announced as the winner of the Britcar Trophy Championship, making him part of the first ever all-disabled team to win a national racing series.

Overend, 39, was born with development dysplasia of the hips and has lived with injuries, pain and mobility challenges from the age of 12. 

A former fashion photographer, Overend discovered wheelchair tennis when his condition progressed and eventually achieved a world ranking.

Having been a long-term fan of motorsport and successful sim racing driver, he joined Team BRIT in September 2021, before taking on his first full year of racing this year.

His season began at Silverstone in March with a race win. Overend and Whitley went on to perform consistently well throughout the year and were named winners of the championship following the final races of the season held at Donington Park.

Overend and Whitley, who was born without fully formed hands and is also a Paralympian skier, drive the team’s BMW M240i, which is fitted with the team’s world-leading hand controls which enable them to compete against able-bodied competitors.

Despite it being the first ever year of racing for them both, they finished the season with a 53-point lead in their class and a seven-point lead in the overall championship.

The news follows confirmation of a second-place finish in class for fellow Team BRIT drivers Bobby Trundley and Aaron Morgan in the British GT Championship.

Overend said: “I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved as a team.

"None of this would be possible without everyone putting in 100 per cent every race weekend I’m so grateful for the support of our sponsors, our families and everyone that has come to cheer us on. We believed and we achieved!”