Harry, Prince of Wheels

HRH Prince Harry gets in the driving seat during a visit to Jaguar Land Rover’s Design and Engineering Centre.

Prince Harry made the most of the Jaguar Land Rover goodies on offer when he was at one of the company’s bases in Gaydon.

Ahead of tomorrow’s opening ceremony of the 2014 Invictus Games, Prince Harry was in Warwickshire to watch teams from 11 nations compete in a special driving challenge.

Harry then presented the first two medals of the Games, a new international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick Service personnel.

The word ‘Invictus’ means ‘unconquered’. The Invictus Games celebrates this through sporting achievement that recognises the sacrifice they, and others, have made.

The Australia team, made up of Matthew Taxis and Sarah Archibald, took gold in the Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge, which saw 11 nations compete in two stages designed to test the competitors’ driving and navigation skills.

Teams, made up of a driver and navigator, completed an all-terrain stage in a Land Rover Discovery and a tarmac track stage in a Jaguar F-TYPE, with a series of gates required to be correctly negotiated in order.

With the four quickest teams qualifying for this afternoon’s final, it was Australia who came out on top, finishing ahead of silver medallists Germany and the Netherlands, who took bronze.

At the Invictus Games launch earlier this year, Prince Harry said: “I have witnessed first-hand how the power of sport can positively impact the lives of wounded, injured and sick Servicemen and women in their journey of recovery.

“The Invictus Games will focus on what they can achieve post injury and celebrate their fighting spirit, through an inclusive sporting competition that recognises the sacrifice they have made.

“I am extremely proud that we are bringing an event like this to the UK for the first time and believe it can have a long lasting impact on the well-being of those who have served their nations so bravely.”