A WHEELCHAIR tennis pro from Southampton has become the latest rookie to join an all-disabled racing team.

Chris Overend has signed with Team BRIT, which is aiming to become the first ever all-disabled team to race in the Le Mans 24 hour.

The 39-year-old was born with development dysplasia of the hips and spent years from the age of 12 suffering with injuries and pain caused by an undiagnosed problem.

When he was 24, he was skiing in France when he suffered a severe back spasm and on his return home a surgeon confirmed that during puberty his femoral artery became pinched, causing his left hip and pelvis to become deformed.

Prior to this, he had forged a successful career as a photographer, working with London Fashion week and travelling the world on commissions for titles such as the Observer, GQ and Vogue.

But after lunchtime visit to an open air screening of Wimbledon in 2017, he was introduced to wheelchair tennis and ended up trying out at a local session, run by the head of Team GB.

Signed up on the spot, he joined a wheelchair tennis development programme and in his second year of competing he won 3 out of 4 doubles tournaments including the national finals, also achieving a world ranking.

Recently, Chris was having difficulty in using a race simulator at home and found details of Team BRIT’s world-leading hand controls online.

He got in touch in 2020 and after a visit to the team at its Dunsfold HQ and a trial on the team’s racing simulator, he realised the potential ahead for racing.

He said: “It’s hard to sum up what this opportunity means to me. Being a racing driver is something I’ve dreamt of since I was a kid, and even more so when I was a teenager, spending 5 or 6 hours a night racing sims.

“It’s so surreal to be given this chance but I’m determined to work hard to get as fit and healthy as I can. I want to be part of the team that makes it to Le Mans and I’ll be doing all I can to get there.”