Billy Monger: Who is racing driver and Winter Paralympics presenter?

The racing driver will be part of Channel 4’s broadcast team at the Paralympics

Billy Monger will be part of Channel 4’s broadcast team at the Paralympics (Getty Images)

Billy Monger will be part of Channel 4’s presenting team for the Winter Paralympics in Beijing.

The 21-year-old professional racing driver is a double-leg amputee, after enduring a critical injury in a crash at Donnington Park in 2017.

Monger, who is nicknamed ‘Billy Whizz’, has been a prodigious driver since he first started go-karting aged six and joined the F4 British Championship in 2016.

He achieved three podiums in his first season as a 17-year-old before his following season was cut short by the horrific crash.

Monger almost died when he collided with the back of Finnish driver Patrik Pasma’s car at Donington Park on 16 April 2017.

After being rushed to hospital, both Monger’s legs were amputated in order to save his life, with his racing team, JHR Developments, raising over £500,000 via a Just Giving page within 24 hours.

Just two months after his crash, Monger announced that he would return before the end of the year and he competed at the V de V Challenge Endurance Proto in Portugal alongside quadruple amputee Frederic Sausset in November.

In February 2018, he tested a single-seater Formula 3 car for Carlin and was later signed by the team after Monger and his family received special dispensation to compete, with disabled drivers previously having been banned from racing single-seater cars due to safety concerns.

That summer, Monger drove a Formula 1 car for the first time when he tested a Sauber at the Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby.

His bravery and resilience were recognised at the end of the year when he was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year’s Helen Rollason Award for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity.

In March 2021, Monger completed “Billy’s Big Challenge”, during which he covered a distance of 140 miles by walking, kayaking and cycling, and raised over £3m for Comic Relief.

At the Paralympics Games, Monger, who has already been part of Channel 4’s Formula 1 coverage, will be one of the broadcaster’s on-screen reporters alongside Paralympic swimmer Ellie Robinson.