Who is he?
His name is Tomáš Dvořáček born in 1994, currently employed in the field of Information Technology and enjoys motorsports, video production, and photography.
Where did it all start?
His passion for motorsports ignited in 2011. During that time he was merely an occasional visitor to enthusiast Autocross events in Czech Republic, at which he began photographing whatever had caught his eyes. Soon after he was fortunate enough to grab the attention of a motorsport magazine and struck an agreement with them to publish his photos on it. One of his breakthrough moments was capturing the European Autocross Championship on the famous Nová Pak track in 2012.
“During a photoshoot in one of the races, I had several opportunities to be given a ride in the race cars as a co-driver, for example with Filip Mareš, Junior European Rally Champion. With whom I am still in contact with and whenever I needed some information about my construction of the Škoda Felicia Race, he always advised me … for which he deserves a big thank you.” – said Tomáš
However, due to his movement limitations he was unable to take up this opportunity. After a while, one of his friends Pavel Král decided to build a race car for enthusiast Autocross. During this time he had the insight on how a production car is modified for racing purposes. Then wondered if there would be a possibility to adjust the steering of the vehicle, where a specialized company could install hand controls for the various functions.
An issue had risen regarding the cost of acquiring the appropriate hand-controls, at some points it would cost more than the racing car it self. After a while, he thought of contacting API CZ , which deals with various kinds of hand-control modifications. “The owner of the company, Miroslav Bartoš, offered a solution to the situation through a sponsorship in the form of providing all the required hand-controls.” said Tomáš
How did he deal with the challenges of his disability?
“I have limited movement of my lower limbs since birth. This is, of course, a completely different situation than when someone is confined to a wheelchair or otherwise has limited mobility unexpectedly, for example due to an accident… But I am still convinced that a core attribute to deal with his condition is to learn to function as soon as possible and not sit somewhere in a corner and feeling sorry for himself. This will not change anything in anyway, on the contrary, it is a waste of time that a person can devote to do things that will entertain and fulfill him.” – said Tomáš
Status update on the project…
The vehicle chosen was a Skoda Felicia from 1997. 1.6 MPI engine, the Skoda has been heavily modified for greater safety on the car, such as a protective cage, a sports hard shell, special fuel lines including a racing tank, and a racing chassis. “It took us several years to build the car, mainly due to financial constraints, but thanks to the help of several sponsors and friends, we have the car almost done today.” said Tomáš
Since the beginning, they have been filming their project on YouTube, where they got a lot of positive feedback, which often pushed them further to complete the manual racing car project. “When I receive a positive message it is a motivation for someone to fight their challenges, which I would never have thought of at the beginning of the project. And that’s why, thanks to these fans, I said to myself that we’ll finish the car, and a special thanks to my friends P. Král, and J. Kulhánek. and more, who spend an incredible amount of their free time.” said Tomáš. Their team continues to expand with the latest member, K. Roubík, who will be dedicated to filming, and thus they will be able to significantly improve the quality of the videos and the overall presentation of their project.
“I’m glad that this project is an inspiration for some people and will help those who don’t have it easy in life.” – said Tomáš
More information is coming soon on their Instagram and YouTube. @thomastv_official