Local 87-year-old gets revved up at Thruxton

Motor sport enthusiast June Swindell told carers at Colten Care’s Salisbury care home, Braemar Lodge, of her lifelong desire to don a driver’s crash helmet and drive a competitive car at speed.

They contacted the team at Thruxton Circuit near Andover, which laid out a special driving experience for the delighted former secretary.

After a safety briefing, June had her first taste of the track, completing five laps in a silver Porsche Cayman accompanied by an instructor.

She was then fitted with a helmet and guided into the driving position of a bright orange single-seat Sports 2000 racing car.

Track staff padded up the back of the driver’s seat so June could safely reach the pedals.

She did a pair of laps, touching 80 mph and waving to onlookers, including Braemar Lodge Companionship Team member Kelly Bartlett and Colten Care minibus driver Nick Meyers, who had brought her to the circuit.

Kelly said: “June is an experienced driver, with a car of her own that she still drives regularly, but this was a different experience altogether. It was the first time in her life that she had driven a racing car, something she’s told us she’d thought about often.

“As she waved to us at the end of the second lap, she missed the direction to go back into the pits, so ended up doing an extra lap! I don’t know if she meant to or not, she was just having so much fun.”

After her solo stint, June accepted an invite to be the passenger in an even faster two-seat Ford Focus ST sports car driven by one of the Thruxton team. The pair reached up to 100 mph going into corners and more than 130 mph on the straight.

“I can’t believe this experience has actually happened,” said Cornish-born June, who was a secretary at a shipping company in Southampton and has lived at Braemar Lodge since last year. “I absolutely loved it. It’s amazing that it went from a conversation with a carer to the fact I got to do the racing. Everyone we met at the track was incredibly welcoming and generous with their time. Thank you to all involved. I’m so grateful and I’d love to do it all again.”

Aside from being a keen motor racing fan, June’s hobbies include the more sedate pastime of playing bridge with a circle of friends. 

“June was just lovely,” said Thruxton Sales Administrator Carol Johnson, known around the track as ‘CJ’. “You could see she was having a ball. We all enjoyed having her here. She is a lady with a true zest for life.”

Thruxton is widely accepted as being the fastest racetrack in the country due to its many high-speed corners.

You can also have an experience at Thruxton at HALF PRICE!

Converted from a wartime airfield in 1950, it is known as the ‘drivers circuit’ with regular users reporting a 155-mph top speed in race conditions and a 115-mph average speed. 

The circuit is popular among racing fans for hosting British Touring Car Championship and Superbike events.