Race team back on track after devastating fire

The Power Maxed Racing team made it to Knockhill after a devastating fire at their base

A racing team are back behind the wheel after their base was gutted by fire.

Staff at Power Maxed Racing and parent company Automotive Brands in Bretforton, Worcestershire, lost their warehouse, equipment and cars on 9 August when a wildfire swept through the area.

Owner Adam Weaver described how he had watched 20 years of his working life "pretty much burn to nothing within 20 minutes".

But this weekend, despite all odds, the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) team managed to get on the grid at Knockhill, coming 15th in the final race.

"Quitting's not in any of our vocabularies," Mr Weaver said.

"We will build back from this, one way or another."

Although the team finished in every race at Knockhill, Mr Weaver said they were "not quite up to our normal standards".

The heat was so intense it melted gearbox casings, Mr Weaver said

He said lots of people had "pulled together" to help the team, including by loaning them cars for their race at Knockhill, in Scotland, and allowing them to use warehouse space.

"It was no easy feat though, because it was the furthest circuit away in the calendar," he added.

After this season, Mr Weaver hopes that a "very generous" manufacturing company might donate some vehicles to allow Power Maxed to convert them into BTCC touring cars.

The company plans to claim through insurance and is hoping to be operational again within a few months.

Mr Weaver previously said the heat of the fire, which had spread across 12 acres (4.8 hectares) of fields, was so intense it melted gearbox casings and reduced engines to molten metal.