Youngsters from Belmont Grosvenor School were given an insight into one of the most world’s most extreme motor races when one of the drivers from the Dakar rally dropped into school.
Quin Evans, whose two sons Dante and Luca are pupils at the ‘outstanding’ prep school on the outskirts of Harrogate, has been competing in extreme sports races for the past 25 years.
His interest in cars and racing began as a school boy when his brother built a ‘dune buggy’ as part of a CDT project.
The father-of-two, whose career has seen him take podium positions in both the British and World Championships in the past, travels the world, competing in events – with the world-famous Dakar Rally one of the highlights of his racing calendar.
As navigator, Mr Evans and the team ‘Race 2 Recovery’ complete the race covering over 10,000 km in three weeks – since 2009, when Mr Evans was the highest placed British competitor overall in the history of the Dakar Rally (4th Place), the rally has been staged in South America.
Around 800 competitors from more than 50 countries across the world take part in the race – in the next installment the 2016 event starts in January and sets off from Buenos Aires in Argentina.
“The rally was relocated from Africa a number of years ago and now takes place in South America – the start location and route changes each year but tends to cover large swathes of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile,” said Mr Evans, whose team supports Help for Heroes.
Pam Dight, Deputy Headteacher at co-educational prep school Belmont Grosvenor said Mr Evans’ visit had been fascinating for all the children, from Reception to Year 6.
Mrs Dight said:
Mr Evans talked about how tough, gruelling and hard work the rally races he takes part in can be – the children were completely engrossed by all that he said. They then had the opportunity to see the car and his equipment too – we were very grateful for his time.
Belmont Grosvenor School and its Magic Tree Nursery is based in 20 acres of grounds at Swarcliffe Hall, Birstwith, Harrogate, and caters for boys and girls from three months to 11 years.
