Church volunteer surprised with high-speed car racing experience
When Lichfield-based Alex Pringle placed his weekly order for his Wiltshire Farm Foods meals, he definitely wasn’t expecting a call back inviting him to join the company for a day out at racing track Curborough Sprint Course!
The team at Alex’s Birmingham branch knew how passionate the 75-year-old is about cars, having had many chats with his delivery driver, Nick, about various racing experiences over the years.
As part of the company’s ongoing campaign to carry out ‘bucket list’ style experiences for its customers - having already organised a private dance session with Craig Revel-Horwood; a day’s percussion practice with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra; and the opportunity to partake in the Brighton to London car rally – the Wiltshire Farm Foods team decided to treat Alex to a day of high-speed fun in not just one, but three racing cars.
First up was the GT40, followed by the classic E-type Jaguar and finally, the Spyder 911 Porsche.
Alex was quite at home behind the wheel of all three, with a spin in the Jag taking him back to his childhood, he said: "My father used to own Jaguars and I loved taking them out to impress the ladies, so that took me back to some great memories. The GT40 had some serious horsepower to it – the noise was deafening! – and was really fun to drive but definitely had me feeling a bit wobbly after a few laps round the circuit."
As a retired widower who volunteers at his local church and works as a celebrant, Alex lives his life to the full. He even does line dancing every Tuesday! A passion for travel has led him to take to the road in his camper van in recent years – and next up is a trip to Patmos.
In his opinion age is just a number: "I quote the old Nike logo ‘Just do it’. Life’s too short. There’s nothing wrong with scaring yourself a bit and you’re past the age of being sensible.
"You’ve earned the right to embarrass the children and grandchildren. Just do it – go for it."
By Sarah Piest - Contributor
