MY MOTORSPORT

James Cameron served for 17 years in the Royal Tank Regiment and returned from his
last tour of Afghanistan in 2011 determined to help those whose lives he had seen
impacted by military service. A motorsport fan from birth, he used his enthusiasm and
vision to set up Mission Motorsport providing ex-service men and women and their
families with opportunities in motorsport aiding them on a journey of recovery

What first made you interested in motorsport?
When I was a kid, I used to race my bike against anything
I possibly could. My first opportunity to do things with engines
on was driving tractors and Land Rovers on the farm where
I used to work, and that turned into Cross Country trialling as
a student. My first exposure to non-off road motorsport was
the Harewood Hillclimb. That was near where I grew up so
I went to watch it and eventually I went up it myself.

How did your Army career and motorsport combine?
I joined the Army out of University but they did not consider
motorsport as a sport until 2009. The only four wheels stuff
done under their auspices was the armed forces Rally team.
Despite that, I participated in motorsport wherever I went.
I spent a chunk of time in Germany, an hour from the
Nürburgring, and from the late 1990s and I spent Wednesday
‘sports afternoons’ as a Nürburgring instructor. I was also

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posted to a large RAF air base in East Anglia in 2000, where
Triumph ran the bike that became named the Bonneville and
Classic Team Lotus and Lotus themselves ran cars up and down.

How did that evolve into Mission Motorsport?
I had always used my motorsport connections to raise
money for services charities. I was in Afghanistan 11 years
ago, commanding the armoured group in Helmand, and
I had arranged lots of things to auction off when I returned
– gifts, opportunities and experiences. On my way back, I was
reflecting on the fact that actually, those most affected by
their service would have really loved some of those things
themselves. So I spoke to the donors and said ‘instead of
auctioning them, can I use them for the guys’ and that set the
conditions for Mission Motorsport. I firmly believed it was the
MOD’s responsibility to help people like them and it was that
which led to the formation of the charity on 1st March 2012.
Revolution - March 2022