21-year-old Abi Evans from Highclere stars in new Amazon Prime series Dare to Defy alongside gold-winning Paralympian Richard Whitehead and broadcaster Adele Roberts

A young woman from Highclere has featured prominently in a new Amazon Prime series focused on increasing inclusivity in sport.

Twenty-one-year-old Abi Evans is a key figure in the television programme Dare to Defy, which follows two-time Paralympic gold medallist Richard Whitehead and broadcaster Adele Roberts as they strive to put on the most inclusive running event ever.

In the show, Abi – who is a wheelchair user with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome – meets Richard and gets the chance to drive a unique electric race car with steering wheel controls around Donington Park Circuit in Derbyshire.

After she learns to drive the car – of which there are only 10 like it in the world – Abi attends the 2024 London ePrix and gets the once-in-a-lifetime chance to drive around the circuit before the motorsport race begins.

“I didn’t know that I was going to do the Formula E, so I think they really wanted to make sure I knew how to drive before they let me do that because the Formula E track was a lot tighter,” Abi said of the experience, which was filmed in July.

“I was super shocked but getting to do that was awesome. I feel very lucky because not many people have been able to do that.”

Abi said it was “insane” that she got the opportunity to drive about 20 laps around Donington in the expensive, high-tech car.

She said: “Getting to drive with those hand controls was just incredible. They’re just so much easier.

“If that could be in a normal day-to-day car, it would make everyone’s life so much better.

“The hand controls we have at the moment, while they are functional, they’re not particularly comfortable.”

Abi also thought that the new hand controls she got to try felt much safer than the ones she usually uses, as the current hand controls in most accessible cars means you can’t have both hands on the steering wheel at all times.

She developed a strong relationship with Richard Whitehead, who also had a go in the car, and Abi said he was as genuine in person as he comes across in the show.

She said: “Richard is so lovely. He’s just the most genuine guy who truly wants to help everyone.

“I had never met him before, but everyone knows who he is because he is a bit of a legend in the UK.

“He’s just really awesome and he made the whole experience worth it really. He made everything more fun and made sure that I loved it.”

The three-episode series ends with Richard and Adele putting on the Run to the Future event, which took place at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on September 15.

Abi took part in the 5km race, and praised its inclusive nature.

She said: “It was super inclusive and it was just the most amazing experience because it felt like everyone understood and had this goal of making sure everyone could do it.

“It wasn’t about your time. It was just about making sure you finished, which was lovely.”

Abi has said that she was “so honoured and proud” to be a part of Dare to Defy, and that Richard and Adele were “amazing people” who “absolutely smashed it”.

Abi said: “My favourite line from my episode was when Richard said when I was in that car: ‘The inclusion happened without banging on the inclusivity drum.’

“I think we get a lot of bad press in the world because people push the inclusion thing so much to get the message out there, but I think the nice thing about the show is it shows that actually, things like race car driving, things like horse riding can be inclusive with no one really needing to know.

“You can just do it anyway. These small adjustments that can be made means actually, when you see that person in that racecar or on that horse, you would never know they were any different.

“That’s what I think the best message of the show is, just showing people that it is possible.

“There’s kids that are growing up who might think ‘I’m disabled, I can’t do this.’

“But actually, maybe they can, and it’s showing that to them. It is a really lovely message to get across.”

Abi is hopeful that she will get the chance to try motorsport again, as she found her experience in the Formula E car truly thrilling.

She said: “There’s definitely a hope that it might happen. Never say never.

“Hopefully if the right people watch the show and the right message gets out there hopefully I can do it because I really enjoyed it.

“Hopefully you will see me racing sometime soon.”

Dare to Defy is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video now.