Jayden Posted 1, February 2020 Report Share Posted 1, February 2020 I joined some time ago on the hunt for a Clio, and now that I got a Clio and fully registered in NSW, thought I might as well throw in a newbie post. Since six weeks old, I had been diagnosed with Haemophilia; a rare bleeding disorder that prevented my blood from proper clotting without treatment. Most of my life has been within the walls of the hospital and with many bruises and bleeds all throughout my body. There's so much that's happened during my first 14 years that its pretty much impossible to list it in this one post (You'll be able to read it all in the link at the bottom to our website). So you might think then, that I would have picked up a passion for something calm and less intense. Instead, I found the most entertaining discipline of motorsports, and I've been a fan since the age of 7/9 (Can't remember exactly oops😆). It started with the odd Wii or PS3 racing game, then eventually moving to a Logitech G27 steering wheel on Gran Turismo 5 (Btw nice to see this forum had a GT5 Nurburgring leaderboard going once upon a time 😀). I slowly learned the basics of driving every day after school, almost all self taught, from trying to skid in an AE86 to figuring out the heel-toe in a 600hp R34. By 2016, I moved over to the PC and got into more advanced racing and into a range of racing leagues on Assetto Corsa, and eventually I was actually finding myself fighting near the front of the field! This was all while at the risk of bleeds and being admitted to hospital on an average of every two weeks. The next couple years would see me working my way through high school and learning the dark art of motorsports through simracing, videos, articles and lots more, hoping one day I could work in this field as a driver and/or engineer. By 2018, I had gone onto a study trial of a drug called Hemlibra, and since then my treatment for Haemophilia had never been more effective. This is what opened the doors for me to finally enter what I loved for real. October 2018 would mark my very first taste of motorsport, when I completed Level 1 and 2 of the Riccardo’s Racers program in my first ever time driving, and setting the fastest motokhana time in (of all things) mum’s Mazda 3! An effort she luckily approved of very much, considering the great amount of knowledge and experience I got from the program. A year later, I would be completing Level 3 of the program at Luddenham Raceway, again going tremendously well, but also still in the Mazda 3. With mum considering what my next couple years could look like, it was time to address the elephant in the room (somewhat literally considering the weight 😄), hence the introduction of our own 2010 Renault Sport Clio Cup Trophee. 70,000km on the clock, equipped with the cup chassis, Recaro seats and much more. Overall I’ve really enjoyed it and I haven’t even gotten into the driver’s seat yet! Sticks to the road real nice, cup suspension keeps the car really nice and flat. Not all perfect initially as it had the pesky crack in the exhaust manifold, but now all good and welded up by Renotech. Next up to do is is strut top mounts, either down the route of OE replacement or adjustable tops. Then some point after that, pads will need changing and potentially front discs, so again an option between straight replace or upgrade. Cloth Recaros also have the signature hole in the base and the wheel has gone somewhat melty, so we'll need to find someone to fix those things too at some point. But overall I'm really enjoying this car so far! I'm learning a lot from my parents about owning, researching and managing every little bit about this car, and over time I hope it can really help me make my first steps towards independent driving and make the transition from virtual racing to reality. (This is my story that summarises my life with Haemophilia from birth until now, in much more detail than what is described in this post. It can be read here: https://www.theredtrail.org/stories/jaydens-life-before-and-after-hemlibra/) 29 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokinacha Posted 1, February 2020 Report Share Posted 1, February 2020 Welcome Jayden! Inspirational story mate! Pretty great first car too. Mine was a Volvo 240 but I certainly didn’t overcome the struggles you have so far in your young life. Look forward to seeing you enjoy your new Clio and maybe even best our own racers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayden Posted 1, February 2020 Author Report Share Posted 1, February 2020 Thanks mate! A Volvo would have certainly been fun (Have seen plenty of the insane drift cars out there). Am truly grateful to mum for exchanging her car for this 'beast'. She originally bought the Mazda to be nice a safe and have good boot space in the back for the wheelchair (necessary every time I had bleeds and bruises in my legs), but I guess that quickly went out the window 😃. The wheelchair is no longer needed, but I actually think it would fit in this car! Maybe in an alternate reality where she knew how to drive manual we would already be in a Clio... but either way I guess we come back full circle to today. I greatly appreciate the support, and I hope to stick around and learn more from you guys here. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsch Posted 1, February 2020 Report Share Posted 1, February 2020 Hello and welcome! Nice first ride you got there. Sorry to hear about that "bleeder" thing but you're in good company knowing how many Emperors, Kings, Tsars and Princes also had this disease. Great to hear that the medication you found works out for you and allows you to take part in motorsports and makes your life easier in general. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woot woot Posted 1, February 2020 Report Share Posted 1, February 2020 Welcome Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friedchicken Posted 1, February 2020 Report Share Posted 1, February 2020 Welcome mate 😁 Hope you enjoy the RS ownership experience and make a build thread! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayden Posted 1, February 2020 Author Report Share Posted 1, February 2020 Haha thanks! A build thread is certainly coming at some point. We just gotta, uhh, find something to build on the car. 🤣 Might be upholstery retrim. Might be strut mounts. Might be brakes. Might be straight fixes or 'excuses' for upgrades. Whichever comes first. 🤷♂️ Either way that's some way down the line. Atm all about learning how to drive. 1 lesson so far. Manual part pretty good. Just need to get used to the size of a motor vehicle and how to observe the road well. Track driving is quite different to everyday roads! All part of the process right? 😁 Loving the support everyone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apple3337 Posted 1, February 2020 Report Share Posted 1, February 2020 The car you bought is one of the best hot hatches ever. You don't need to waste your time and money trying to make things "better". Just trust the RS people who put it together. They know their stuff. Great story BTW. Welcome. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davejay Posted 1, February 2020 Report Share Posted 1, February 2020 Thank you for sharing ur story, is hugely refreshing and nice, u clearly have a great attitude, and fine taste in machinery, look forward to updates, nice crowd around here to bounce off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob 240 Posted 1, February 2020 Report Share Posted 1, February 2020 Wonderful backstory and fabulous you’ve discovered motor sport at such a young age - big big welcome and look forward to hearing about your exploits 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambit Posted 1, February 2020 Report Share Posted 1, February 2020 An amazing story and a real testament to your character and perseverance in life, nothing but kudos to what you have been through and what you'll continue to achieve. Also great choice of first car, no doubt you'll enjoy every minute of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttimbo Posted 1, February 2020 Report Share Posted 1, February 2020 Great story — one of perseverance, more than anything. I hope the treatment enables you to have more and more freedom. Meanwhile, seize the day! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayden Posted 1, February 2020 Author Report Share Posted 1, February 2020 Oh no! 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apu Posted 5, May 2020 Report Share Posted 5, May 2020 Hi Jayden, A belated welcome! I only just saw this post. Not sure if you remember but you came to have a look at my Clio (mine was the house with Hondas). Hope you are well. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosey Posted 5, May 2020 Report Share Posted 5, May 2020 Same from me, Jayden. A great story, and a big welcome to ozRS! Plenty of us Clio fanboys here to approve of your Cup Trophee. Don’t believe what the Meggy And C4 crowd try to tell you. When it comes to RS it’s not necessarily all about boost 🤟 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cairnsy Posted 5, May 2020 Report Share Posted 5, May 2020 ^^ for me to, just read your initial post and your battle with Haemophilia. Glad to hear you are having some success with treatment. By the way, don't listen to @Moosey (what does he know anyway) 😁 Mind you, I've had a Meg III for, coming up 6 years. Probably a little biased. 🙂 I look forward to watching your exploits and the development of your car. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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