A visually impaired Kerry girl is to get the chance to experience the thrill of a rally car passenger ride thanks to a Vision Sports Ireland initiative.
The Vision Sports Ireland Zero Limits Track Day returns to Mondello Park
on Tuesday and Wednesday.
This unique event provides blind and vision-impaired participants with an extraordinary opportunity to drive a dual-controlled road car around the Mondello Park circuit in the morning. In the afternoon, participants will experience the thrill of being a rally co-driver as they sit in for passenger laps around the track.
Grace O’Sullivan from Firies will return to Mondello Park again after getting her first taste of rallying driving at the Zero Limits Track Day last year.
She is expected to take to the County Kildare track today (Wednesday).
The Milltown Presentation Secondary School pupil has a rare condition called Stargardt disease.
“Participants get an extraordinary opportunity to drive dual control cars on the Mondello track in the morning and in the afternoon, they experience the thrill of being rally co-drivers,” her mother Mary explained.
“This would not be possible without the support of all the volunteer rally drivers who travel from all over Ireland and beyond with their cars.
“For Grace or anyone in a similar situation, this is an amazing opportunity.”
“Some people would never sit behind the wheel only for this event.”
“It also teaches anyone with a visual impairment that nothing is impossible – there are no limits or no barriers just because you have an impairment.
“It is a very emotional day. If there is something you want to do then there is a way around.”
Her hero, Paralympian Jason Smyth also suffers from the rare disease that is said to affect one in 10,000 people, is a Zero Limits Track Day ambassador. Grace met the five-time Gold medallist at Mondello Park last year.
Rallying runs in the family too; her aunt Siobhan’s husband Stephen O’Connor is a well-known local rally driver and member of Kerry Motor Club.
One of the main organisers of the event is Mayo woman Sara McFadden, a senior official with Vision Sports Ireland. She made history when she became Ireland’s first visually impaired rally navigator when she and her dad competed in the Imokilly Rally in Cork in July 2018.
Vision Sports Ireland Zero Limits Track Day is run in partnership with Motorsport Ireland, Sports Ireland and the Windsor Motor Group.
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