Racing driver 'lucky to be alive' after crash

A racing driver from Crawley says he feels "lucky to be alive" after a crash in which he lost consciousness.

Charlie Hand suffered concussion in a three-car collision at Donington Park in the Power Maxed Mini Challenge, in April.

He was seen unconscious on the track as paramedics treated him during the televised race, and thanked the marshals who came to his aid.

He said: "I remember sitting there in the car and trying to climb myself out and I lost consciousness."

He remembered seeing "about 15 sets of eyes looking at me asking if I'm alright", which he said was reassuring.

"To have a big crash like this and to walk away still in one piece, I consider myself lucky, definitely," he added.

Now, he says it is a race against time to get himself and the car – which was seriously damaged – ready to race at Brands Hatch, his home track, on 9 and 10 May.

He added: "It's a race to try and get it repaired.

"I'm not really worried about me to be honest, I'm more worried about the car, but that's just my mentality."

As a "privateer" driver, he doesn't have the staff or budget of the larger teams, so their two mechanics have been working around the clock to repair the car.

Every car on the grid is a Mini, though they have different specifications, and the Mini Challenge follows the British Touring Cars league, taking place before the main event.

Charlie works at Brands Hatch training young drivers, alongside his main job as a window fitter.

He said the amount of support and care he got from those first on the scene was "amazing".

"Seeing a driver get out of the car and immediately collapsing on the floor is not a nice sight, so I can't thank the marshals and the doctors enough," he added.

"It's top of the line care. You can't really get much safer if you were in a hospital, it's basically a mini-hospital inside the track."