Racing despite wheelchair

The drift racer David Roels has opted for the color gold and equipped his Mercedes 190E with the RONAL anniversary rims R50 Gold. Unique rims - for a unique drifter. Because the race driver is a paraplegic and the only wheelchair user who participates in international drift races.

Date:
14 October 2019

Since the age of 20, David has been a paraplegic after a cycling accident. He became a motor sportsman anyway. His disability has never stopped him from doing anything. Neither in life nor on the track and he has been active in motorsport since 2009. 

International Drift Challenges in Hockenheim, national DMSB A license, slaloms, youngtimer tours, mountain uniformity tests, the Nürburgring - his curriculum vitae is quite impressive. What is closest to David’s heart are charity events like “Race 4 Friends”: “If you have team spirit, commitment, fairness and the will to give your best, you can do a lot with physical impairment and still have fun doing it,” says the very likable German from the Rhineland region.

David’s Mercedes 190E (a 1988 W201 model) is a real eye-catcher. Since he cannot operate the gas and brake pedals in the footwell of the car due to his paraplegia, the car was rebuilt according to his needs. A manual control unit, which replaces the foot function of the two pedals, has been installed. And since the vehicle is equipped with an automatic transmission, this eliminates the clutch. This way, he enjoys every moment to the fullest while drifting.

Drift sport is very visual and individual. This starts with the driving technique and style of the driver and goes up to the extroverted designed cars. Sure, that's why David wanted to get a taste of the latest rims presented at the Essen Motor Show last year. As he wheeled past the RONAL and SPEELDINE CORSE booths, he already noticed our highlight wheel of the year from afar: the well-known and popular RONAL R50 cult wheel in the gold anniversary color. David was immediately hooked on the product. This year, David focuses mainly on oldtimer and youngtimer events

So we were thrilled when we recently got pictures of David and his drift car on the golden RONAL rims. Because we are convinced – a unique drifter needs a unique rim!

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