DIO Implants (UK) sponsor Peter Fairbairn at Silverstone

The company was a major sponsor for him as he took part in the Britcar 24-hour race at Silverstone, held on Saturday and Sunday 2/3 October, 2010.

Peter has been racing in motor sport for many years although this was the first time he’d taken part in a gruelling 24-hour event. Akin to the LeMans 24-hour race, this was the fifth Britcar GP event at Silverstone and James Tucker, the event organiser, said that it was becoming more popular each year.

In addition to all the engineers and pit crew in the team, Peter was accompanied by his fellow drivers: Paul McLain who set the car up; Tony Littlejohn who works for Porsche; and Mike Quinn, a seasoned racing driver whose grandfather founded luxury car manufacturer Jaguar. Each driver took it in turns to take the wheel between each pit stop (around 90 minutes), from 4:30 pm on Saturday through the night until the same time on Sunday.

The race started badly for the team with a crash in the first hour of the race; whilst heading for the pits the Porsche was hit by another car at speed, rendering the GT2 un-drivable. It was due to the skill and ingenuity of Peter’s team and their ability to work under pressure that the crippled car was launched back into the race after three hours of repairs. Despite this early setback they powered on to finish in a creditable 39th place out of 62 competitors, making up six laps on the lead car. The weather also played its part with dry conditions at the start turning to heavy rain during the night. "We set the car up for rain so had to go slowly in the dry at the start," Peter explained. "By the end of the race we were 3rd fastest for the last three hours. We would have been in the top ten but for the mechanical problem."

DIO UK was also pleased to provide physical support with the company’s managing director, Iain Forster on hand as "pit runner" during the race. Peter is a recent convert to using DIO dental implants which, he says, are ideally suited to his branch of dentistry. He has performed implant surgery for the last 20 years and has particular expertise in the use of calcium phosphate as a replacement to the traditional bone-graft techniques. He has lectured at Kings College in London on the use of synthetic bone grafting materials and says that he has a success rate in excess of 99%. "I am particularly impressed with the usability and implant coatings of DIO implants," he explained. "They are perfectly compatible with calcium phosphates and complement my techniques very well."

Iain Forster admitted that he was delighted to have the opportunity of sponsoring Dr. Fairbairn especially in his favourite sport, motor racing. "Silverstone was an exhausting but very rewarding time for all of us. After everything we went through, I really feel like a member of the team now."

It was a pertinent opportunity for DIO to sponsor Dr Fairbairn’s Porsche team. "The German engineered Porsche seemed relevant to DIO and Peter Fairbairn’s relationship as DIO’s RBM-surface implants are sent to Germany for the electrochemical deposition process (called Biotite-H)", Iain explained. "Peter favours using these biomechanical calcium phosphate-enhanced implants with his pioneering techniques, so there was an underlying connection to the Britcar GP collaboration. I certainly can’t wait for next year’s event!"

Over the last 22 years Peter has been on the world stage speaking about implants and synthetic graft materials and regularly contributes to dental journals. He has lectured at the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry annual forum (2005 and 2006) and the European Society of Cosmetic Dentistry Forum (2008) and is a regular speaker for the Association of Dental Implantology (ADI).