“The relationship’s been absolutely brilliant,” he reflects. “When they first came on board, they took the project very seriously right from the start. [They] assigned a couple of guys to work with us, see what we were doing already, and then [to see] how they then develop their car, because initially they brought in the DBX, which, of course, is quite an unlikely intervention vehicle.
“But they developed that further for the track and upgrades, etc. The current car performs brilliantly. The team that comes along with the car, again, can’t fault them. They’re not only a decent bunch of guys, they’re also very involved with us in terms of making sure that we get what we need from them.
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“They’ve been great. They take on board what we say, any feedback, and they’ve supported us, not just with the car, but also with the whole Medical Car operation, really. So, yeah, couldn’t ask for a better bunch of guys.”
Another vital aspect of that operation is the driver, as Dr Roberts explains: “I used to work with Alan van der Merwe for many years, but Alan went on to other projects, and in his place we then had Bruno and Karl, both professional drivers in their own right.
“They haven’t had any experience of a Medical Car before, they started with us here, but they’ve soon come on board really, really quickly. They’re not medically trained, but they do form part of the medical response in supporting me once we get to the incident, so they deliver the medical resources to the incident in an efficient way, and they allow myself and the local doctor to get on with the job of looking after the driver.”
