Drew James has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia and when he was diagnosed, the Starlight Children’s Foundation charity, which brightens the lives of seriously and terminally ill children, granted Drew with the opportunity to make three wishes.

As a motorsport fanatic, one of those wishes was to drive in a racing car and as Brands Hatch is Drew's local circuit, the Collins ReDesign Racing Team were asked if Dartford based racing driver, Tony Gilham could take Drew around in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

After discussions with Porsche and Brands Hatch Officials, this request was given the green light to take place on Sunday 2nd May 2010. Brands Hatch owner, Jonathan Palmer gave his personal approval and Porsche Carrera Cup GB co-ordinator, Marion Barnaby not only approved, but she also donated circuit entry and Porsche VIP passes to Drew's family.

Although the weather was cold and wet, this did not dampen the occasion for Drew and his family. Drew's mum, Debbie said: "When we arrived at the team awning on Sunday morning, we received a warm welcome and from thereon in the weather became insignificant.

"Drew was whisked away into a day in the life of a racing driver by Tony Gilham, Team Manager Gary Allen and the rest of the team, who all treated Drew like a true hero.

"Drew was in complete awe of Tony, the car and all that they had to say about the running of the car and the team."

Presented with a racing t-shirt and baseball cap by Porsche, Drew was then helped into the passenger seat of the bright pink and green "34" Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, where Tony had also organised Drew's name to be on the windscreen.

"When Drew was getting prepared for the ride of his life, with his Porsche shirt and cap, given to him by the team, he turned to me and said 'I am really nervous mum, but I know Tony will look after me'.

"I was overwhelmed with tears of joy and pride, knowing how he has fought hard for his life and now there was my boy living his dream as a racing car driver," continued Debbie.

At approximately 12.30pm, the track was cleared and the exclusive laps took place. What made the occasion even more special was the efforts made by ITV Sport, who fitted a point of view camera on the car dashboard in order to capture Drew and Tony throughout the experience. This footage was displayed on the big screens around the track, as well as being shown live on ITV4 during the British Touring Car Championship program. The full recording was also presented to Drew on a special DVD later on in the day.

After returning from his experience of high-speed laps of the famous Brands Hatch track, Drew beamed with delight and said: "Wow, that was awesome, it was a sweet ride and Tony took me round at 140mph!"

Drew was then treated like a true racing driver, as the ITV Sport crew arrived at the team awning to interview the 'new racing superstar' on his experience.

Tony Gilham said: "We are extremely pleased to be able assist in making Drew's wish come true. Porsche and Brands Hatch were exceptional in allowing us to undertake this request and we are thrilled to be able to provide Drew and his family with such a memorable experience."

Drew continually said the whole day was awesome and hasn't stopped talking about it since. Debbie concluded: "I would like to give a big thank you to my friends Claire and Paul Giles for initiating this day and a special thanks to Tony and Gary for making it happen.

"Drew will never forget this day and it has enabled him to be the superstar that I know he is. I hope we get to see Tony race again because he is now Drew's idol.

"We were all blown away and the day was immeasurable from start to finish, thank you all so very much."

For further information on Tony Gilham visit http://www.tonygilham.com