WHEEL to wheel action at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour means racing at Knockhill is not for the faint-hearted.

John Playfair is upping the ante though by taking on the 1.3-mile circuit… while blindfolded.

The avid sportsman has recently lost his sight to such an extent that he can no longer legally drive.

The 61-year-old has a rare genetic eye disorder called Late Onset Retinal Degeneration (LORD), which is also known as Late Onset Retinal Macular Degeneration.

There is no known cure or prevention to the progressive loss of sight and blindness.

John, who lives near Longniddry, said the condition had impacted on many aspects of his life, from driving to working.

He said: “There are a lot of things you can still do but small things like television become more challenging.

“I am listening to more stuff, like the radio and talking books.

“The condition will only continue to deteriorate.”

However, rather than letting it be the end of his love of motorsport, he is doing his bit for charity.

On Wednesday (April 11), he will take to the Fife track in the driver’s seat of a rally car, while wearing a blindfold.

It is not the first time that John, who works in garden retail, has taken to a racing circuit while blindfolded though.

In January, he took to the track at Raceland, near Gladsmuir, shortly before the facility closed.

On that occasion, he was joined by his 32-year-old daughter Linda, who was driving the go kart behind him to keep him straight.

John had previously raced as a special stage rally driver in Scotland before retiring to support his daughters’ motorsport careers, with 28-year-old Linda racing karts.

Alongside him in the passenger seat this time will be his daughter Sarah, who previously raced in single seaters – Formula Ford – across the UK and Europe in the mid 2000s.

He said: “How we are going to do it, Linda (his daughter) was in a kart behind me and was in contact with a two-way radio.

“We talked to each other as we were going round the circuit and kept me right when I wanted to turn right or when I wanted to stay straight.

“With the car, Sarah will be beside me in the car and talk me round the circuit – when I’m to go faster on the straight or slow down at a corner.”

He added: “Age doesn’t guarantee it, my mother stopped driving when she was 50, I could keep going to 60.

"Good health and general well being seems to slow its onset.

“It’ll never stop it, it can’t stop it, but it’ll slow it.

“It’s not life threatening but it’s hugely life changing.

"It’s the unknown, the deterioration rate is unknown.

“They say it goes in steps, but they don’t know how far away the steps are or how steep those steps are."

Now, members of the public can help raise funds for the University of Edinburgh to carry out medical research for this condition, which has a 50/50 chance of being inherited but affects John and all his siblings.

People are being asked to guess the combined time for laps of the two circuits, with the winners getting tickets to the Fife circuit and the Royal Highland Show.

The university is a registered charity whose impact and reach extends far beyond the education of the student body.

With expertise in medicine, the sciences and humanities, and centres investigating everything from major brain disorders to inclusion and diversity; the university can be an effective and powerful force for advancement and change with a truly global reach.

To make a donation and guess the combined time for the laps at the two circuits, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/blindlap