The 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans saw a dream come true. Frédéric Sausset became the first quadruple amputee to start, and finish, the legendary race. It sparked a flicker of hope that Sausset was eager to fan. He put all his energy into a project that switched the focus to others. The lead man no longer wanted to be at the wheel.

“I wasn’t doing it for my own personal enjoyment, but to promote other drivers with different disabilities,” he says. He had been toying with the idea of creating a programme for drivers with disabilities since 2015: “At the time, I said to myself that that if I managed to complete the 24 Hours of Le Mans, I’d set up a special programme for drivers with disabilities, to give them a chance of racing at the highest level, which would be a world-first.”

A “mountain” of obstacles

The project took shape in 2018. A team, managed by Sausset, in which two of the three drivers had a disability, was due to line up at the 24 Hours in 2020 but the Covid-19 situation resulted in the plans being shelved for 12 months. It took the entrepreneur two years to conclude the project. “We spent 80% of our time fund-raising and with the alterations, tests and permits we require, the car is 15% more expensive.”

A “mountain” of obstacles had to be overcome, not only in terms of adapting the car but, first and foremost, in modifying the rulebook. “The authorities are always a bit reluctant to give the go-ahead to this type of project, particularly where safety is concerned.” The first step in 2015-2016 was therefore to tweak the regulations. “We were able to count on the ACO,” he says, gratefully. Another barrier was communication. “Sponsors are cagey when it comes to broaching the subject of disability.”

A message of hope

The difficulties were finally brushed aside and the SRT41 team’s car took the chequered flag in 2021, “just like all the other finishers which really emphasises the drivers’ performance and the extent of their achievement!” At the finish, joy and emotion overcame the team members and many an onlooker too. “We had a lot of people rooting for us in the crowd, and the marshals. I still get messages and people thanking us for giving them reasons to fight.”

Over and above the message of hope, Sausset is also proud of the sporting performance. He takes “great pride in the fact that SRT41 has earned the right to race like any other team. After all, we do have a solid, bona fide project.” So, what’s next? “I did think about calling it a day after 2021. But it’s in my blood... the sound of the cars, the smell, the atmosphere...”

Talks with manufacturers

While not short on ideas, Frédéric Sausset felt the need to take a break in 2022. “These programmes are very hard to finance. I support SRT41 on my own, and have a business to run too, so it’s tough.”. He regrets that “this type of project tends to be forgotten when no-one is there promoting it.” And yet, the work to  develop the technology allowing people with various disabilities to drive a racing car has been done, and approved by the FIA and the ACO.

Sausset the driver still harbours hope of “getting back behind the wheel one day at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.” In the meantime, he is “talking with manufacturers about setting up a programme geared towards inclusion, based on what I have done, and on which I’ll be involved as a partner.”

The ever-tenacious trailblazer is determined to see the flame he lit in 2016 burn a good while longer!

PHOTOS: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS – FROM TOP TO BOTTOM (© ACO ARCHIVES): Frédéric Sausset on the 24 Hours podium in 2016 with teammates Jean-Bernard Bouvet and Christophe Tinseau; the Oreca entered in 2021 by SRT41 and driven by Nigel Bailly, Takuma Aoki and Matthieu Lahaye; Sausset at the wheel of the Morgan during the 2016 race.