"Anything is possible" - Motorcycle racer gives his inspirational talk to Lewes pupils following horror accident

Vanessa Ruck delivered a talk to 800 students at Priory East Sussex school about her journey since being hit by a car in 2014.

The 35-year-old said: “Giving is one of the most rewarding things going. If I can help just one student each time I share my story then it somehow makes what I went through seem worthwhile.”

Eight years ago, Vanessa required seven surgeries following a collision with a car while cycling and required extensive mental and physical recovery spanning seven years.

During this period, she discovered motorcycles and found the physicality of riding helped with body strength. This led to Vanessa getting a dirt bike, having to wait a further five months before using it due to another bout of surgery.

Following this, Vanessa started competing and racing at events, taking her to The Red Bull Romaniacs extreme hard endurance rally – a 600km race in Romania – and gruelling desert rallies in both Qatar and Morocco.

Her most recent drive saw her become the first woman to ever enter into the Tunisia Desert Challenge, an extreme rally raced over sand dunes in incredibly-high temperatures, winning the eight-day event in the ladies class.

She added: “Motorcycles, something I started post-accident, have become my love and passion. If you’d asked me seven years ago whether I would be racing off-road motorcycles I’d have probably choked on my drink. But life takes us on some amazing journeys.

“People can relate to my story because everyone goes through bad times. Hopefully I am inspiring others to show that if I can bounce back after seven surgeries, others can get through their hard times.”

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The sole aim of Vanessa's talk was to tell pupils that, with the right mindset, anything is possible.

Sharing her story of mental and physical lows and examples of pain and success, she highlights methods that help us bring power and drive to accept and fight on.

Vanessa said: “I might not be changing the world, but I hope one session at a time, I can help inspire some of our future generations to set the sight on the stars."