billy red nose day

Billy Monger: the racing driver's journey from critical injuries to completing 140-mile challenge 

He has now completed a Red Nose Day challenge in which he walked, cycled and kayaked 140 miles in just four days 

TV & Film Editor
March 18, 2021

Billy Monger's amazing accomplishment for Red Nose Day, Billy's Big Red Nose Day Challenge, saw the racing driver walk, cycle and kayak 140 miles in just four days to raise money for Comic Relief. 

The racing driver was critically injured in a crash at Donington Park circuit back in April 2017, and had both of his legs amputated. The Comic Relief site detailed Billy's journey to recovery, reading: "Undeterred, Billy’s resilience and resolve saw him back behind the wheel within a year, as he became the first-ever double amputee to race competitively in a single-seater racing car, at just eighteen years of age." 

WATCH: Billy Monger took on a huge challenge for Red Nose Day

Speaking about the crash in an article to iNews, he wrote: "In 2017 I was involved in a racing car accident. I spent three days in a coma before waking up to find that both of my legs had been amputated. I was 17... Within a year of the crash I was back behind the wheel competing. None of this would have been possible without the support I received, both physically and emotionally, to get me to a place where I could be happy and get on with my life. 

Billy travelled 140 miles in four days by walking, cycling and kayak

He continued: "I am often asked if I constantly think about the crash and what has happened to me. I honestly don’t. After my accident I watched the footage a few times to see what had happened, if there was anything I could have done differently. But there wasn’t. I have learned to accept that and move on. 

The racing driver opened up about his accident

"I don’t tend to look back or dwell on the past. I am just grateful to still be here. Now I live every day as if it is my last because I know how short life could have been for me." 

Tune into Billy’s Big Red Nose Day Challenge on BBC One on Thursday 18 March at 9pm.

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