THE last time Mike Copping sat behind the wheel at speed was almost three decades ago in a Ford Cortina.
So it was quite a thrill to floor the accelerator and feel the horsepower and the adrenaline pumping once again.
Topping around 60mph on a converted airfield may not seem much to today’s speed freaks – but there’s a significant difference between Mike and your average racer.
Incredibly, Mike – from Ringwood – has been registered blind for 27 years.
The one-off driving experience at the aerodrome close to Silverstone racetrack was organised by his wife Izzy, with the help of the Rotary Club of Ringwood.
Mike, a self-confessed former car nut who lost his sight through diabetes, told the Daily Echo: “I loved driving before I was blind.
“I’ve always loved cars – we’ve got a Mini Cooper S which sometimes, with my wife’s help, I move up and down the driveway.
“During the race day, my wife said at one point I went flashing past at 50 or 60mph.
“This, believe me, feels fast to me. She said I had the biggest beam on my face she’d ever seen. I was grinning from ear-to-ear. It was incredible, I simply never thought I’d be behind the wheel of a car driving at any sort of speed again.”
Mike, who has dialysis three times a week, spent two hours being put through his paces by an instructor at the converted aerodrome.
“I was driving a Ford Focus 1.6, which had dual controls,” said Mike. “It was such a surprise and my wife Izzy, and the Rotary guys who met us there and took us out to lunch, were brilliant.”
Mike, who is on the transplant list waiting for a kidney and pancreas, says he was looking forward to doing it again.
But his feet may not remain on the ground for long.
“After the driving, I asked my wife to show me the light aircraft at the aerodrome,” said Mike. “I couldn’t get over how small they were.
“I said to her, that’s the next thing – she thinks I am becoming an adrenaline junkie now.”
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