Sandro to race endurance series

Rochdale teenager Sandro Ballesteros will take a big step towards his dream of becoming a professional racing driver and join the grid to compete in the forthcoming season of BMW 116 Trophy Cup this weekend as the youngest racer, just two weeks after his sixteenth birthday.

From a very young age, Autism Hero Award winner Sandro’s weekly routine would involve driving his electric ride-on car around his local BMW forecourt in all weathers every Sunday, unaware that he would get to actually race one someday.

At five years old, his obsession with cars led him to try indoor karting at just five years old; this would set him on a 10 year journey, racing karts all over the country.

Sandro has been guided up to this point in his racing career by Matty Street, owner of local indoor venue Team Karting on Queensway. His fast progress and his love of motorsport saw him recently star in BBC documentary “My Life on the Fast Track”, which followed his journey progressing from kart racing to cars aged just fourteen.

Matty would coach him to gain his race licence and prepare Sandro for his car racing debut at Brands Hatch. He would then go on to race his first full season in the Junior Saloon Car Championship last year, which saw him compete in twenty four 15 minute sprint races spread over ten meetings, but his long term dream has always been to race endurance in the Le Mans 24hr.

This year's challenge, the Gaz Shocks 116 Trophy Cup, is a one make series with all cars based on the one series BMW. The 46 strong grid, including some former British Touring Car drivers, will see them tested in a 90 minute team endurance race format with six rounds at iconic UK tracks, including the “Home of British Motorsport,” Silverstone in the opening race on 30 April.

For these races, Sandro will be pairing up for driver swaps with his long-term mentor Matty.

 

 

Over the winter break, Sandro has been working hard on the next step towards his goal, raising funds and forming relationships with sponsorship partners to trade up his Junior Saxo to a race spec One Series BMW, and making preparations to join the 116 grid.

He unveiled the car's new livery at Team Karting, while hosting one of his regular Autism Friendly karting evenings.

Ballesteros is hoping to put the skills gained through his years of racing experience to good use, these saw him compete in Bambino, Cadet, and Junior classes, where he claimed the first UK podium for X-Kart chassis before moving to cars.

He has also raced with Matty previously as part of the #RacingWithAutismUK kart team at various events including a 24-hour race, and Sandro races virtually online too, regularly driving multiple two and three hour stints on a simulator as part of a team.

Sandro said: “I’m really buzzing about the season alongside Matty, as he’s pretty much like an older brother to me, and I'm so excited about the new challenge of competing in the 116 Trophy.

“Matty is an amazing driver and mentor, and was also my tutor for my ARDS licence test, helping me out a lot, plus his BMW 116 was the first car I ever drove, so I know that I can continue to learn with someone I can really trust.

“Endurance racing is the direction I want to take, and it’s going to be a big challenge to race a totally different rear wheel drive car, in a longer race format. I’m putting in a lot of time on the sim, along with an exercise program.”

Matty Street has already had proven success in racing, especially with Team BRIT in the Britcar Endurance Championship Trophy class in previous years, and makes a return to competitive action this year in between a very busy schedule.

His current workload includes owning and running X-Kart, a successful UK karting team, the Team Karting indoor facility in Rochdale, plus many other projects, but he is very much looking forward to getting back in a race suit to compete at some great UK tracks.

Matty said: “To be honest, I am just really happy that I’ve got another chance to get back behind the wheel. It has been a lot of hard work to get back to this, and I am so pleased that the opportunity involves teaming up with Sandro, the excitement is climbing up another level as we get closer to the beginning of the season. 

“We’ve known each other for so long, and it felt like the perfect fit for us to get to race together as a team, and for me to continue to help him develop as a racing driver. Sandro and his family have also worked so hard to get to this stage of his career as a racer. 

“The fact that this is now happening just is testament to all those long days and weekends away racing. I’m just so proud of what he’s done so far.“

You can follow their progress through the 2023 season on Sandro#19 social media and website blog updates at www.sandro19.co.uk, where there are also details of how you can show support and get your name on the roof of his racecar.