Deaf teenager from Torfaen secures Britcar Trophy Championship podium finish

Sixteen-year-old Caleb McDuff, the only deaf male driver in the UK, has claimed yet another silverware by finishing first and second in class in the closing rounds of the Britcar Trophy Championship.

Caleb, who lives in Pontypool, South Wales and is a pupil at Cwmbran High School, is a driver for Team BRIT, the world’s only competitive team of fully disabled drivers, and drives the BMW 1 Series.

On Sunday 11th August, Caleb and his teammate Dom Shore, who has spina bifida, took part in the fifth round of the championship at Donington Park Circuit.

The duo put in a fantastic performance in qualifying to take second place for the first of the 2-race weekend. Caleb took the first stint of the 50-minute race to move up to first in class. He was beaten by a Ginetta G40, dropping them to second.

Dom took over in the second half and gave it his all, but was narrowly defeated and finished second.

In race two their efforts were rewarded with a fantastic result: first in class. Earlier this year, Caleb became the first deaf driver ever to reach the Britcar podium.

The weekend’s result follows a P1 and P2 at Silverstone in June for Caleb, who drove with Team BRIT driver Bobby Trundley. The team currently sit first in class in the championship.

Caleb was diagnosed with deafness at the age of two after suffering from severe ear infections as a baby, but now has moderate hearing thanks to cochlear implants. The team has come up with a technical solution to allow him to use his implants and communicate with the team’s pit crew while wearing his race helmet.

Caleb said: “What an amazing weekend! The team did a fantastic job getting the BMW hooked up and ready, with a perfect performance to give us our second of the season for Series 1. With a constant rollercoaster of emotions throughout the 50 minutes of the race, this was my most exciting race with the team to date, and my favourite win of my career so far.”

Caleb will race again at Snetterton on Sunday 15th September.