Limo driver Beresford looking for karting sponsors

WEST Somerset’s answer to Jensen Button is appealing to the local business community to help him in his race to reach the podium and fulfil his true potential.
Limousine chauffeur Beresford Mandley, who lives and was brought up in Minehead, is looking for sponsors to fund his next step in motor sport after becoming the 2006 National Karting Association champion.
The 29-year-old, who runs Limo Express in the town, is now ready to get behind the wheel of a more powerful kart for his next challenge, and wants to work his way up through the karting series.
Beresford said: “I have always been interested in motor sports from a young age and like to try out anything with an engine.
“Until last year, it was just a hobby. I went to a karting event in Avonmouth and ended up setting the fastest lap time.
“Then, I went to the Newport regional finals and took part in the grand prix and won there and became regional champion.
“The national championship was in Warrington and I raced against 54 karters from all over the country.
“We had five qualifying heats and I ended up in pole position in the final and left the others standing by winning by six or seven seconds.”
His prize for winning 2006 NKA Championship was a pro-train course with an expert instructor to further improve his racing skills and secure a motor sport association licence, which he is hoping to achieve on January 17 when he travels to Wilton Mill Circuit, in Northants.
“Gaining an MSA licence will enable me to get into the next stage of karting where I will be racing at speeds of 100 to 110 mph,” said Beresford.
“It is much more difficult but I am confident I can do well.”
To progress to the next level, Beresford, who also runs a yellow cab business in Minehead, is looking for £4,000-a-year towards his equipment and race suit and he is hoping the prestige of having sponsors’ names across his kart and suit will prove alluring to local businesses.
Beresford said: “I want this to be as much about the local community and I have already received some interest in sponsorship but would like more interest from local businesses and help give them more coverage.”
He already receives great support from his family with his car-building father as his pit crew and his mother helping to run his companies when he is busy on the track.
Beresford is also no stranger to publicity, after being awarded runner-up Chauffeur of the Year 2005 and voted a top 10 Chauffeur in Europe in 2006 and being featured in national motor magazines, including as the face behind the Peugeot E7, the model of yellow cab he drives.
Beresford is also allowing people who fancy trying their luck on the karting circuit to race against him in a ‘chauffeur challenge’ with an opportunity to receive a bottle of bubbly and a trophy he is beaten.
However, he assured cab and limo customers that race practise was purely on the circuits, and not while he was working.
“I will be sticking to the speed limits and doing my racing on the track rather than the streets in Minehead,” he said.
For more details, visit Beresford’s website http://www.limoexpress-uk.com/ or telephone him on 0786 3241507.

• Our photograph shows Beresford Mandley in kart racing gear with his limousine. Photo by Mark the Photographer, ref M010019. Order image reprints online at www.tcpbymtp.co.uk.

Drink-drive Christmas campaign

A HARD-hitting Christmas campaign is being used by Somerset County Council to remind drivers in West Somerset of the tragic consequences of drink-driving.
The Somerset Road Safety Partnership is sending graphic posters to pubs, clubs, and off-licences throughout the county in the run-up to the festive season.
One shows an overturned car with the caption ‘There are never any winners in the drink drive lottery – it’s a Christmas rollover’.
In another poster, paramedics are dealing with a casualty beside their ambulance, with its flashing blue and red lights, and the words ‘Not the sort of lights you’d like to see this Christmas. Just a small amount of alcohol can lead to tragedy on rural roads’.
The posters will also appear on roadside hoardings and the rear of buses– and will be backed up by a radio advertising campaign.
County Councillor Hazel Prior-Sankey, who is chairman of the road safety partnership, said: “This is a time of year when many people will be attending parties and functions.
“We do not want to spoil their fun, but would ask them to be sensible and to avoid drinking and driving.
“Alcohol impairs a driver’s reactions and judgement and can lead to a crash in which they, and other innocent road users, could be seriously injured or even lose their lives.”
Councillor Prior-Sankey advised party-goers to use public transport or taxis, or to nominate a designated driver who stayed on non-alcoholic drinks all evening, to make sure they arrived home safely.
The partnership was launched two months ago by the county council, in conjunction with the police, the fire and rescue service, and health authorities, to reduce road casualties in Somerset.
In the three weeks immediately before Christmas last year, there were 184 drink-drive arrests in Avon and Somerset - 24 more than in the same period of 2004 - and 103 of those arrested were under the age of 30.