A VETERAN who suffered a horrific injury in a motorcycle accident achieved a lifelong dream and crossed the chequered flag in the ‘longest race in the world’.

Warren McKinlay, of Notley Road, Braintree, is a driver for team BRIT, a motor racing team of disabled ex-servicemen.

Last Saturday Warren, 34, took on on the Spa 25, around the famous Belgium grand-prix track Spa-Francorchamps, dubbed the longest race in the world.

Warren said: “It was a really great experience from start to finish - the build up to the race as well as the actual racing.

“It was a huge thing being there which makes it quite difficult because there is such a buzz in the atmosphere.

“You have to manage that because once you get out of the car you might have four or six hours before you get back in again. It is really important to manage the adrenaline.”

Warren suffered a broken back, damaged his pelvis and brain injuries in 2005, when his motorbike collided with a tree at 60mph whilst he was serving as a recovery mechanic at RAF Honington in Suffolk.

He used to be a keen go-kart racer before his accident and says he grew up in the “golden age of racing” when Ayrton Senna was his idol.

Warren said: “Apparently when I woke up after my accident the first thing I said to my wife Sarah was about a go-karting race I was set to take part in the next day.

“Since having my accident I never dreamed I would be involved in racing again. It is a blessing and a curse at the same time because you get so personally involved and emotional about it.”

Warren lives with his wife Sarah, daughter Katie, 11, and son Frazer, five, was diagnosed with Cotard’s Syndrome following the accident.

When crossing the finish line and taking the chequered flag, Warren said he “had tears of joy in his eyes”.

Team BRIT, made up of Warren, and ex-servicemen Andy Searle, Tony Williams and Jimmy Hill, came 101 out of 121 teams

Next Warren will take part in the world famous Le Mans race, and he has no plans to slow down.

He said: “I never thought I would do anything like this again and I am excited to carry on.”

Team BRIT is a branch of KartForce, a charity set that was set up to motivate injured ex-troops.