CAR enthusiast Will Gibney has returned from the trip of a lifetime after revealing he is battling a rare and incurable cancer.

Will, 28, who grew up in Old Town, was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma last year and has compiled a wish list of things he would like to do while he still feels healthy – and the list revolves mainly around his love of cars.

Last week Will, a former Commonweal School and New College student, was flown to Barcelona with his dad Paul by SELOC, the owners club for Lotus enthusiasts.

The club had formed a secret forum and the members had donated money to pay for Will to fly to Barcelona to be with the Lotus F1 Team for their final pre-season test.

Will said: “This goes to show what an amazing little community SELOC is, and I am absolutely blown away by the thought and generosity its members have shown me. I’ll never be able to thank them enough. It gave my dad and me some time together away from all the unpleasant stuff.”

During his visit, Will had the opportunity to meet their new driver, Romain Grosjean, and watched the team practising pit stops thanks to their access all areas passes at the Circuit de Catalunya. He also drove alongside the cars as they overtook at 200mph and saw Nico Rosberg and Filipe Massa performing press duties.

Will, who is currently taking medication called Sunitinib, a form of oral chemotherapy, said: “The whole tour was run brilliantly. It was nice to hear that the drivers still get a kick out of the car itself, not just the competitive element of the sport. It’s nice to know they still think of it as special.

“I must admit, my healthy anti-cancer diet slipped slightly while I was away and I certainly made the most out of the breakfast buffet the following day. I’ll make up for it this week by eating more vegetables than humanly possible.”

As well as the Barcelona trip, Will has also had some good news from doctors after his latest scans showed a reduction in some lymph nodes of nearly 30mm. The other areas including his kidney, liver and spine were stable – so stable that it's possible that some areas may have deactivated and become scar tissue.

“I was told I would get my results over the phone on Tuesday and when it came round I was, of course, dreading the phone call,” said Will.

“The phone rang and it was one of Dr Farrugia’s oncology team, Alex, who I had met a week earlier. Alex’s first words were ‘Good news’ – I nearly fell over.

“I am, of course, over the moon that the Sunitinib is working.

“It’s never going to be a cure, but it is managing the disease and it takes me one step closer to the back operation that will see me completing my dream of competing in a motor race, waterskiing again and falling down the side of Cwmcarn on my bike again.”

To keep tabs on Will’s progress visit his blog at http://gibneyslist.blogspot.com